


Methylene Blue

by A26



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Scientists, Assassination Attempt(s), Asshole!Kenny, Attempt at Humor, Bad Puns, Bonus Chapter(s)!, Car Sex, Character Death, Drunken sex, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Smut, Fully Recovered Addict, Gay Sex, Gun Violence, Levi wants the Yeager booty, M/M, Medical Trauma, Outdoor Sex, POV Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Past Drug Use, Pharmaceuticals AU, Power Bottom!Levi, Prankster!Hange, Primarily Light-Hearted, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sad times, Scientist!Eren, Switching, Threats, Word Play, ereri, infidelity but not our ereris, occasional random POVs, scientist!levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 09:56:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 100,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4344047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A26/pseuds/A26
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Yeah, remember our first date? That one where we got hideously drunk, made out on a pool table and went back to your place, then we woke up the next morning to the sound of your wife coming home?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Like A Heartbeat...

They say your life flashes before your eyes just before you’re about to die. I’m personally finding that in the moment, it’s more like everything is in fucking slow motion or even reverse. I completely understand that it’s just an adrenaline rush when faced with danger, causing everything to seemingly slow down since the synapses are running a little faster, but actually having it happen is another thing entirely. 

If someone asked me to honestly and accurately sum up my experience of dying, I'd tell them how much it fucking sucks balls. 

Everything is coming to me in random flashes in random time spans, paying no heed to the chronology of when they actually happened. Some images are dream-like, having never experienced situations like that before, although most seem to have been real life happenings. They don’t seem to hold any relevance to one other, other than the fact that they are being played out in a random order before my eyes. It feels as if there are things holding my eyes open and forcing me to watch it all. 

I can’t not see it. 

Playing as children in the yard. My wedding day. I’m buying a pair of slippers. I’m in the shower. Yesterday, eating my breakfast. I can’t tell what I was eating. Or wearing, but I know I was eating breakfast. Is that oatmeal? Do I even like oatmeal? It’s like I’m re-living these all again. Instantaneously and one at a time, all at the same time. My first blowjob after an underground party with Isabel. It’s like watching a movie you aren’t engrossed or interested in all at the same time. It’s completely neutral.

I see flashes of colour. Some bright, some dark. A lot of green and teal. Red. Black. Shit brown. 

I’m on my way out, so I suppose I thats why I can’t avoid seeing this shit-pile of jargon. It’s something that inevitably happens when you die, right? No one lives to tell you how confusing it is in the moment, or how you don’t really have any room to think and arrive to any great epiphanies. There’s too much being broadcast at once for my mind to focus on any singular thing in particular. My mind can’t seem to focus on anything other than receiving. Or so it feels.

I see a lot of faces, one in particular over the rest. It’s as if it’s becoming more and more common, narrowing down on one part of my life that it seems my dying physical vessel needs me to remember. I was dying, right? No. Not remember. That’s not the right word for it. It wants me to do something about what I’m seeing. It doesn’t feel neutral any more. Weird.

Why am I seeing green and that face so much? Why is it so familiar? Why can I focus on that more than any of the other nonsense flashing before my eyes, and why can’t I shake the feeling that this isn’t just neutral death. If your life flashes before your eyes, I want to know why. 

Maybe it’s all being thrown at me so I can put it all back together. Make sense of all these disparate and incongruent fragments of what I could call my ‘past’ or my life’s momentum up until this very point. All previous choices boiled down into one moment, which feels like an eternity. It’s dizzying how intense it feels and my body- 

Oh yeah, my body. I have a body, but where is it? I can focus my mind now, but only on the green and the familiar face, which has brown hair, but no name comes to me. Damn why is dying so confusing? What’s the point if I’m just going to be meat on a table any minute now? Fuck, I’m on a table. How do I know if I’m on a table if I’m dead? There’s lights flashing above me too, I didn’t see those before. And since when did I ever have to go to a hospital in my life? That’s right, I’m not dead I’m only on my way out. 

It’s only a matter of time. 

Hold up, how do I know I’m in a hospital? That’s strange. I thought I was in some sort of freakish private theatre dedicated to the sole exhibition of my birth-to-date report? There are voices now, interrupting and cracking apart the various images flashing before me and none of them make sense. They’re blurry, fragmented and worst of all, loud. It doesn’t help that my head is killing me and I can’t put together where I am, now I’ve realised I have a body and all. Okay, brain help me out here I’ve gotta have at least one working organ in this fucked up place. The images are flashing fewer and fewer so I can only assume this is what death must feel like. Bright and- is that painful? No, something isn’t right. Death isn’t meant to feel like this, although I can’t say I’ve experienced it before and no one’s lived to tell the tale, ha ha. 

I’m even funny when I’m dying. Fancy that. Isn’t death is supposed to feel like nothing? I don’t feel nothing. 

Right, so I’m not dying. You can figure this out, you’re an intelligent man. You’ve managed to get this far in life and- 

An image makes an appearance at the epicentre of my focus, showing me myself in a long white coat. Oh that’s right; I’m a scientist? Or am I a doctor? Maybe I’m- Huh. The white coat makes sense with the hospital and all, but I didn’t have any flashes earlier relating to anything medical, aside from perhaps that time I broke my wrist. No. I didn’t break it, someone else did – but I can’t remember who… I can see their face though. They look pissed. 

Why is it so hard to form a coherent thought? Dying fucking sucks, man. Seriously. It’s the most ironic, confusing moment of life. 

The shouting gets louder and I can actually make out a few words this time. 

“We’re losing him!” a muffled voice yells to what feels like my right, so I try to turn my head. I can’t exactly see anything and my senses are fucked. I can’t quite tell what I feel right now, there’s a haze coating every nerve ending, although the feeling is most condensed on my chest. It’s as if all the little nerves in every inch of my body all lead up, not to my brain, but to my chest. It’s like my brain has given over all sensory control to my ribcage. 

Its simple biological science happening right now. The slow motion is due to an intense adrenaline rush through my bloodstream. I can’t be dead, as that would just feel like nothing, so I must be going through some trauma. Did the water bill come through or something? Did Eren finally propose or something? Hey wait, I think he- Argh! The fuck?

There’s that feeling again. What’s so special about my ribcage? Maybe I can take a look. 

Hm. Can’t see. Okay brain, focus on your eyes for a minute. My breathing is really short and shallow; I feel like I’m drowning and floating at the same time, it’s seriously uncomfortable to say the fucking least. 

I see flashes of myself as a teenager, binge drinking and taking drugs. The feeling of the injected drug into my left arm washes over me and I suddenly feel a lot more relaxed and any idea of focusing on my eyes vanishes from ‘sight’. Ha. There I go again. 

I hear a few more raised voices and a slight pressure around what I think must be my nose and mouth and I feel my breathing even out a little bit before a warmth starts spreading all over my body as the drug takes to my veins and all those nerves disappear. My adrenaline fuelled synapses take a short breather and a dark heaviness threatens to seal my eyelids shut for good. 

My mind returns to me for a brief enough moment to wonder where the fuck I am? This whole spiel of confusing must have only lasted a few minutes in real-time, but it feels like an eternity. I could be anywhere by now. 

As the deepening drug-induced haze sets in and I gladly welcome unconsciousness, I settle for the conclusion that dying feels euphoric enough to not fight it. 


	2. ...Drives You Mad

So let’s rewind, to just under two years ago… 

“Shitty glasses, what the fuck?” 

“Hahaha yeaaaah. About that, Levi. We had a little tiny bit of a small problem with the order…” Hange looks way too fucking smug to be telling the truth. I’m not buying it.

“Like hell we did. You did this on fucking purpose,” I snarled, shooting her my best menacing glare. 

We’ve got a supply room where we pass through on our way to the lab and it stores all of our fresh hazmat suits. I have carefully had them organised by size per shelf (all my love goes out to delegation), with smalls at the bottom (so I can reach them, shut up, I’m only five-foot-three) and today in particular, these fucking goofy-ass children friendly monstrosities that are covered in butterflies, flowers and shittily drawn zoo animals have replaced my box of smalls. Life is lamentable at times like this. 

I zip up and glare down at myself incredulously. I’ve learnt that wearing mediums means I’m pulling my sleeves and legs up all day and I don’t have the patience for it today. 

It looks like the only other option is to look like a walking Crayola advert. Fuck. My. Life.

I walk into the decontamination chamber alongside Hange, suited up in my only available suit and I have to hand it to her it’s actually quite funny, but I’d never give her the pleasure of knowing she’s amused me. That would only give her permission to repeat this idiocy. I’ll have to slip some methylene blue into her coffee later and laugh at her when she pisses body paint for the blue man group for the whole of next week. Oh, that and her eyes will turn blue. That shit is hilarious. Not that I’ve done it before or anything, nope. Completely innocent here. I snicker to myself which earns me a raised eyebrow from Hange as we nod to the guys running decon control through the glass panel beside us. 

“Fire it up” I order. The large motorized air ducts lower and the gentle streams of treated air fill pump out and fill the chamber and we stand there looking like white scarecrows (with shitty flowers on, in my case) until the other end of the chamber clicks open into the lab. I nod in thanks to the decon guys who wave with a smile before returning to their monitors. It’s their job to make sure should anything spill or leak within these walls, we’re all locked inside and left to die alongside whatever horrible weapon has just leaked. 

I suppose that’s something interesting to put on your CV. 

Hange grins at me and practically skips over to her station as we both pull our masks up and slip our goggles on. I roll my eyes and let out a sigh. This is going to be a long day. 

So for a little more clarity, I work for a pharmaceuticals giant called Sina. We primarily supply the medical world with drugs for hospitals; although my specialty is running a small division of the company we call M.I.T.R.A.S. Don’t ask what it stands for. I forget. Something to do with military security intelligence or some bullshit. 

My department is located in the furthest fucking depths of the lowest two sub-basements, just to ensure I get my daily quota of exercise coming to and from work. Top-secret government shit and all that jazz. If my work got out of this lab, I can imagine I’d lose more than my job – I’m pretty confident the monarchy themselves would send a hit out with my name on it. Let’s face it; the similarities between Sina and Umbrella are eerily uncanny. 

I work alongside some of the best scientists in their field. The Team Leader and resident genius and information sponge, Zoe Hange and two other biochemists, Eld and Gunter. My best friend, Petra works up in Human Resources, which comes in useful whenever I want to get annual leave days approved. 

I however, well. I’m the Head Scientist of the department with a specialism in Advanced Chemistry, and I’m Sina’s Special Projects Co-ordinator and Manager. Basically I run the lowest two sub-levels. I was hired after word got out I’d synthesised a new drug compound whilst working for my… previous employer.  
If anyone outside of those floors or the workplace asks, I just tell them I work in management. It’s easier than saying I’m leading humanity’s strongest team of bioweapon researchers and manufacturers. 

I think it’d probably be a little more illegal of me to put that particular nugget of information on my CV. 

I run a tight ship and slacking is absolutely forbidden. Hange has successfully become the exception to that rule, as she’s batshit crazy and does what she wants. Despite my arguably harsh management style that demands nothing but the best results, the higher-ups never complain as my track record more than speaks for itself. 

“Four-eyes?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I got you a lab assistant, he’s starting tomorrow” Hange practically squeals with delight through her white nose mask and performs a mini fist bump into the air. She’s been working stupid hours lately, so I pulled a few strings to have someone transferred in to assist her. Having internally interviewed a few people (without telling them what they were being interviewed for), I settled on a ‘Moblit Berner’. Besides, having another body in here means I’d get to wrap up other sub-projects rather than being stuck in here babysitting Hange.

A few hours later I start getting a bit hungry, so I head back through the decon chamber and to the showers. I’m often pleased I get the joy of working in such sterile conditions, as I have to wash from head to toe each time before I enter and after leave the lab, which is a minimum of four times a day. I’ve never considered myself to be someone with any obsessive-compulsive disorders, but I wouldn’t put it past myself. I cannot stand filth. Given the amount of showers I end up having, let me tell you, body lotion is my best friend. Forget about Hange, I’m having a full-blown bromance here with my newly discovered sandalwood body butter. 

Once I’m clean, dressed and moisturised, I head up the service lift to the ground floor lobby and make my way out, nodding to the buff blonde security guard as I swipe my card to exit the gates. He looks up from the CCTV screens he’s watching behind his desk and looks straight back down, more or less ignoring me. I work my way out of the building’s complex and cross the street, heading down the road a little ways. Since we’re located in the business district of the city, we’re not too far away from any sort of human life. There is a small teahouse at the end of our street that seems to cater for the business-folk, the name’s “Te-a Maria”. 

They do a pun-fucking-tastic three-mint in individual portion Japanese pots. Perfect for lone-diners such as myself. 

It’s a cute enough little teashop. The outside is well maintained and has a few wrought-iron table sets under the dark, forest green awning. Inside, a small bell rings at the door when you enter and there are little rustic framed pictures lining the unpainted brick walls and lots of miss-matched furniture. There is a bar along the window at the front with a few stools; all of which do not match. Some are painted, some plain wood. All are different woods. It’s nice. Despite all of the disparate 

Word about ‘Tea for Two$day’s’ must’ve gotten out, cause this place is packed today. Then again, a teapot for two for two bucks is a pretty good deal. Fortunately when I approach the counter to order there are only three people in the queue, so I scan around the room for a seat. There’s a cute little table free in the back corner next to a mirror lined with tea lights. Ha, ‘tea’ lights. I get it. 

I order a Rooibos pot and a pastry and head over to my pre-picked seat. It’s a small mahogany table with two red leather chairs facing one another. Just as I step up to the small pair of chairs at the crooked little table, some asshole almost bumps into me, clearly heading for the same table. I look up with a glare on my face and the goon starts apologising as if he’d just killed my pet dog. It’s pretty adorable actually. 

“O-oh! Sorry! Uh, you go ahead, I’ll find somewhere else” I perk an eyebrow before looking over his shoulder at the rest of the tearoom. These are the only two available seats due to how busy it is. 

After giving him a quick once over, I blandly state, “Unless you want to stand, you may as well sit here too.” This has got nothing to do with the fact that this guy may as well be carved out of marble, dressed in skinny jeans and a War of the Worlds Musical tee. Not every day you see that one, I make a mental note to watch that again at some point. His skin is tanned, almost Mediterranean and he’s got a bit of a strange accent which I can’t quite place. It’s not Western and it’s not completely European, but rather somewhere in-between. Also his eyes are gorgeous. Fuck me sideways what kind of fucking colour is that? Blue? Green? Make your goddamn mind up, eyes. 

He shuffles uncomfortably on the spot, but we both sit anyway, waiting for our orders to be delivered. I pull out my company Blackberry and proceed to read a few emails whilst I wait. Not that I’m allowing myself occasional glances or anything, but the kid in front of me digs through his bag and pulls out a massive textbook. If my upside down reading skills are anything to write home about, I’d say that was the same textbook I used whilst studying advanced Bio-Chem.

A uni-student, huh?

He looks a bit startled and he speaks up suddenly “Oh, yeah. I’m studying at Rose University.” Shit, did I think that last part out loud? I must have. Unless he can read minds. I give him a sceptical look as I weigh up the chances of him being telepathic before deducing that we don’t live in a comic book so the chances are slim. “L. Ackerman?” He says slowly. How the fuck- 

“Yeah?” I slowly follow his pointed finger and look at my chest. Fucking name badge. I mentally face palm. 

“Just call me Levi” 

“I’m Eren. Nice to meet you.” I look back at my emails as he offers a hand to shake. I look back up at his hand and his fingernails are fucking filthy. Ugh. Would it be rude to ask him to wash his hands twice before I shake it? I ignore the hand in favour of the awkwardness that would surely ensue. 

“So you work over at SinaPharm, huh?” Eren asks me as the pretty petite blonde waitress brings our orders over, her name badge reads Krista. I make a small mental note of it and make sure to thank her by name. She beams the most goddess-like smile at me and I’m pretty sure this girl should be a toothpaste spokesperson. I have a croissant and a Rooibos tea placed in front of myself, and Eren is handed a double espresso and a slice of what looks like carrot cake. Uni students and their caffeine. 

“Yeah, my dad works there.” He explains after taking a bite of his cake. How disgusting. It’s like watching a documentary on cattle with all the lip and gum slapping and pieces of mulch swirling around between those beautiful cake spattered pearly whites. Before I can ask what his dad does at the same company as me, he asks, “What do you do?”

“I’m in… Management”

“That’s pretty cool. I’m studying to become a researcher,” he keeps talking but I can’t help but think to myself he’s basically a younger, male, more attractive version of Hange. Energetic, way too much gesticulation when they speak and hopelessly giant nerds. Yep, this brat is officially Hange mark two, although unlike shitty glasses, this brat doesn’t seem to grate on my nerves. Weird. 

“Levi?” 

“Yeah?” I quickly snap out of my quickly deteriorating-into-the-gutter line of thoughts… what does this brat want now?

“I don’t suppose you’d like to come out for a drink with me later?’” Eren says with a charming smile. It should be illegal to be that attractive. Damn. 

“Uh…” Do I tell him? 

“I mean, maybe after work? I take it you’re on your lunch break?” He bats those gorgeous fucking light brown eyelashes at me. For a shitty brat I’ve only just met, I’ve got to hand it to him, he’s smooth. Not too many people find me approachable, so the fact he’s risking a limb (possibly literally) to ask me out speaks volumes. I suppose I’ll entertain it this once, although I reassure myself this has absolutely nothing to do with his severe case of the attractives. I’m humouring him, that’s right. 

“Fine” I finish the last bite of my croissant and stand up. “I’ll be out in the lobby by eight.” 

\--- 

Goodbye phone signal, farewell natural lighting and hello white clinical hallways and strip lights. I muse to myself as I let myself into the rear silver service lift that looks a little too much like something out of silent hill for my liking. All it needs is more bloodstains and rust. Once back at the changing rooms I grimace at the box of coloured hazmats. I curse Hange internally as I step back into a fresh, patterned suit and zip myself up.

Boots, check. Mask, check. Goggles, check. Gloves, done. Sleeves tucked in, nothing’s getting in (or out). Hange avoided, not my lucky day. 

“Fuck” 

“What’s wrong, Levi?” she croons happily from across the large laboratory. 

“There’s this insufferable shit stain that I work with, that won’t leave me the fuck alone whenever I try to get some work done” I groan into the back of my white mask making absolutely no attempt to hide my exasperation. 

“Well, mister grumpy pants! I just wanted to let you know that I finally got the lethality percentage on project 57 up to 98!” 

“Why isn’t it at 100 yet?” Hange frowned at me. I knew what she was working on was a pain in the ass, and even the best scientists in the field would only be able to dream of her results, but it was too easy to mess with her. 

“I see something’s got your undies in a bunch, ya big party-pooper!” she said cheerily, taking no notice of my previous comment. That’s the thing with Hange, she knows just as well as I do that she’s one of the best, and that my snarky comments aren’t worth entertaining most of the time. 

“Fine, show me.” I grumbled, moving to her station after setting down some reports I’d been engrossed in. I took a seat and slid my arms into a pair of thick rubber gloves lined to a separate isolation chamber which held the typical toxic shit, starting to handle some vials with a pair of carefully held tongs.

“So what’s up, shorty?” 

“Besides not me?” I retorted. She snorted a little giggle before looking at me sternly with her hands on her hips. 

“Ugh, I agreed to go on a date tonight” I practically mumbled. Hange would persist until hell froze over so I ripped this Band-Aid off now, whilst it was fresh. Goodbye hair follicles, enjoy your new home stuck to a plaster. 

“You what!? Levi, my little misanthropic anomaly! Where are you going to take her? Dinner? Movie? What kind of food? I thought your love life was officially in the shitter?” her shriek almost caused me to drop the vial I was working with, so I snapped at her, briskly cutting her rant off “Fuck, Zoe! So help me I will pour this Histoplasma into your fucking eye sockets and smear it around with the foot of this fucking stool. Jesus!” 

She calmed down after that particularly colourful threat and I regained my hold on the tube of deadly fungus. I swear to fucking god that woman is lucky she doesn’t break more things and set off some sort of fucking epidemic. How I stay alive with her in a place like this I have no fucking idea. 

“So…” she scooted a little closer. I was not amused. 

“So fucking what, four-eyes?” 

“So where are you taking her tonight?” 

“Fuck off.” 

“You’re no fun” she threw her hands up in mock surrender “By the way, we’re almost out of Treponema samples”

“Take your shitty syphilis issues to someone who cares” To which she only grinned from ear to ear. 

“But Leeeeviii” she whined. 

“We’ve already got the biggest biohazard known to mankind in this lab,” I griped half to myself, to which she squealed with over-the-top joy. 

“Which one Levi, there’s so much choice!” she splayed her hands out in front of her extravagantly, indicating the entire lab. 

“I mean you.”


	3. Players Only Love You...

Seven rolled around and by the time I had tidied my station, decontaminated, showered and trekked up through the crusts of the earth to return to the surface, it was eight o’clock on the dot. Levi your timing is impeccable as always. Some may even call it military precision- 

A loud “Levi!” being called across the large open foyer swiftly interrupts my self-gratifying thought process. Eren is across from the lobby’s security gates, smiling at me. He’s wearing the same jeans and black Jeff Wayne tee as earlier although now he seems to have lost the backpack. I walk over and swipe myself out of the security gates and Eren follows close behind me before jogging to catch up and walk side to side. 

“You sure do walk fast!” he pants out. 

“So where did you have in mind?” I ask abruptly. My harshness doesn’t seem to cause any falter in his chipper attitude that only further fuels my concerns about him and Hange being related somehow. Being impervious to my deliberate assholery seems to be a skill few possess. Hange and Eren being two. I could seriously do with less of these skilled individuals in my life. 

“There’s this Turkish place called ‘Duvar’ just up the street from Te-a Maria’s along the bar strip, it’s a little bit of a walk, but it’s not too far, and it’s totally worth it!” he’s still smiling. Maybe he hasn’t picked up on my scowl yet. It’s not that I don’t like going out with gorgeous strangers probably half my age, it’s just I’m tired from dealing with Hange all day and I’d much rather he just cut to the chase. Having said that though, I could honestly listen to him talk all night. That accent does strange and wonderful things to my loins. 

“I know the place. I’ll drive.” I had my car at work anyway; I didn’t feel like going out and then coming back. Besides, my house wasn’t far off from the street he was talking about. I could park up and we could be there in under ten minutes on foot. 

“Ah, great! I hope you don’t mind me asking… how old are you Levi?” It was a genuine enough question, but I was feeling a bit annoying myself today. 

“How old do I look?” I quipped. Eren paused at the gates as I let us through into the staff car park and tilted his head as he cupped his chin in his hand. “Easy, twenty-five!” he said confidently. 

I walked us a little closer to my car and shot his guess down. “Wrong, try again” 

“What? You can’t be any older! Are you twenty-four?” 

“Keep guessing. Here’s a clue, I’m not younger than guess number one.” His jaw dropped.

“No way!” Eren muttered something else under his breath. I wasn’t sure how English it was. 

“Twenty-six?” I groaned at his failings and decided to put an end to his misery.

“I’m twenty-nine” I said, cutting off his next guess. If his jaw could drop further, it did, only for it to sink comically to the floor when he spotted which car I was currently unlocking. 

“Is that?” 

“Yep” The look on Eren’s face was priceless. MasterCard moment right there. 

Eren practically gushed as he swooned over my little dark green convertible MG. “My mum had one just like this, but in hot rod red. I absolutely love this car,” he said with a small smile gracing that perfect tanned face of his. 

“You can swoon later, get the fuck in” I rolled my eyes as I got in and fired her up. Eren looked like a little kid with a fervent love for racing being able to sit in an F1 car for the first time. I could practically see the Christmas lights sparkling in his eyes he was that excited. 

“So Eren.” He straightens up and looks at me as I pull out of the parking bay and wait by the barrier to rise so I can exit. “How old are you, like twenty-two?” He looked hilariously flabbergasted and opened and closed his mouth like a fish. 

“H-how did you guess so easily?!” He almost shouted into my ear. I winced at the volume. 

I hummed. “Call it a lucky guess.” It doesn’t take a genius or even five brain cells to guess the age most people graduate from University. 

“I’m gonna park somewhere I can walk home, it’s close.” I assured him, as he looked confused and concerned at me driving past our destination. It wasn’t long before I had parallel parked in a street full of reasonably modest townhouses, making our way back up the street on foot towards the small strip of bars and restaurants. Eren led me towards a fairly open-plan styled Turkish grill/bar type establishment. It wasn’t particularly my cup of tea, but I’d agreed to come out with him either way. Maybe some liquor would loosen me up.

Upon entering, much to my surprise it wasn’t packed with youthful writhing bodies rubbing together in their sweaty disgustingness, it had more of an open restaurant feel which just happened to have a lounge and a few bar stools. It was decorated with large jars of colourful pickled vegetables and bottles of wine, alongside very unique looking Arabian-esque light fittings and candle holders. No writhing bodies, quite tasteful on the contrary. 

It was only Tuesday, so getting to the bar was simple enough. Eren asked what I wanted, so I said “something strong” so he ordered two “lion’s milks”, whatever the fuck those are. We were presented with two curvy glasses with some sort of spirit watered down with tonic, topped with some orange peel. It looked nice; I just prayed to the alcohol gods that it didn’t taste like liquid piss. 

We took our drinks over to a small deck just outside that overlooked part of the city, which was nestled within a valley, so that we could enjoy the last dwindling remnants of the sunlight’s warmth. An older, tall man with cropped blonde hair wearing an apron came up to our bench and greeted Eren in what was definitely not English. That would explain the boy’s exotic accent. Turkish I was guessing. It sounded pretty throaty. The sexy kind of throaty. 

After a short laugh with the blonde man, Eren turned to me and introduced him as “Hannes, he’s a family friend, and this is Levi. I met him today and we’re just getting drinks.” Hannes simply smiled and wished us a good evening, and to enjoy the entertainment they had on tonight. 

Eren took a sip from his drink and nodded for me to do the same. Taking a sip, I scrunched my face up as it practically burned its way down my throat, leaving way for a warm, anise flavour afterwards. It was like drinking piss that turned to golden syrup on the way down. Weird. Eren just smiled at me and sheepishly said “well, you did ask for something strong”. 

“What is this shit?” 

“It’s Raki,” He stated. Probably sensing my lack of comprehension, he continued. “It’s Turkish Sambuca, more or less” 

“Aah” I nodded, taking another sip. I could handle this; we were off to a good start. 

We proceeded to make easy small talk and he told me all about his over-protective sister whom he lives with, Mikasa, his genius best friend Armin, and a few other people from his classes who were currently interning or being hired for work at Sina. I learnt silly little trivial things about him such as the fact that he enjoyed playing scrabble and had never been to a strip joint before. I tend not to share very much about myself, but I found the Raki was loosening my tongue just enough to tell him a few minor details about myself. 

I spoke about how I trudged through University to get my degree, how I met the cheese-grater on the nerves of my life Zoe Hange and my best friend Petra at said Uni, and how I didn’t get out much or particularly have any friends. I said I knew the CEO of the company on a personal level but didn’t delve any further. 

“Yeah, I’m more of a stay-at-home kinda guy myself. My friends from Uni all go out clubbing and I’ve never seen the allure, really. Sure it’s fun to go dancing but I think I’d prefer to actually take a dance class or something” He shrugged. 

“What sort of dance class?” I asked.

“Oh I don’t know, something fun? Ballroom dancing maybe. Or perhaps the salsa! I’d love to learn how to foxtrot, it’s so... elegant.” He shrugged and smiled. “You probably think it’s stupid,” he mumbled, looking away with embarrassment, his cheeks darkening into a slight blush. 

I shook my head with my answer of “I think it’s a great idea,” to which he positively beamed. I adjusted how I was sat on the cushioned bench and ran a hand through my hair, pushing it all over to the side so less was in my face. 

“Yeah, Mum always said she loved dancing when she was young, so I kinda always wanted to try it.” 

“Why not just take her out?” 

“Uh, well. You see…” He was frowning now, looking a little uncomfortable at first but then he steeled himself to respond. As he spoke more, it didn’t seem rehearsed or well performed, so I vaguely guessed he was sharing more than he usually would with a near stranger. 

“She died when I was ten, from cancer. That’s why I wanted to become a medical researcher, as stupid as it sounds. I wanted to learn enough to be able to find a cure for cancer, or at least contribute towards finding it. It broke our family apart and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” 

“That’s shitty” was all I could add. I didn’t know how to comfort people and I felt a small pang of guilt tingle through my chest at being the person to have brought up the sore topic. 

“Yeah, but it was a long time ago and at least I’ve got purpose to my life because of it. It’s made me a better person, I think. How about your parents?” He asked.

I frowned. “My mum’s dead and I was the product of a one night stand, I’d never known my dad.” I said flatly. Mine was the opposite of Eren’s story. His was something tragic he’d turned into purpose whereas mine allowed for no further conversation with a clear cut barrier I’d put out over the years. The less information I gave people about my past, the less they would treat me differently, judge me, reject me or worst: sympathize with me. I don’t share my past; I refuse to accept people’s sympathy. It’s the most pointless emotion after jealousy or comparison. 

Eren frowned, sensing I didn’t want to talk about it and he scooted a little closer. He looked at me with those beautiful fucking blue-green eyes of his and after an uncomfortable silent moment he finally piped up, only to be instantly cut off by a bunch of people in the area clapping and hollering. The fuck?

We both look up and around, probably more out of wanting to escape our awkward conversation over genuine interest of what was about to happen, but I was pleasantly surprised when a slender young woman trotted up to the small platform-stage in bare feet and pink silk pants and a golden, beaded brassier. She had brightly coloured magenta ribbons tied into her chocolate hair and her skin was a similar shade to Eren’s. She had small metal coin-looking objects strung around her waist, wrists and ankles and had dark, intense makeup lining her dark brown eyes. 

What was most captivating was how she moved to the music they introduced. It was clear she was a belly dancer, but for someone so young I wasn’t expecting her to be so… good. She couldn’t have been older than twenty. 

“Hey Levi, that’s Ilse. Great, isn’t she?” Eren shuffled closer to me and we sat shoulder-to-shoulder sipping our drinks whilst Ilse put on a captivating show, using every curve of her body to her advantage. She jingled and shook her hips and the performance was well needed and openly accepted as a means to dissolve the tension from our conversation. Once the song had finished, Eren turned to face me, drink still in hand. 

“Hey, it’s getting a bit cold out here, why don’t we finish these drinks off and head in to play a little pool?” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

\--- 

As it happens, it turns out this Turkish Sambuca shit is strong. Eren and I are on our fourth round and we’re pretty much shit faced. Can’t sugar coat this. I’m fucking trollied. We started playing pool about an hour ago, after the bar area started to dwindle in numbers of patrons, more or less leaving us two as the only two people in the rear of the building. He’s really shit at pool. 

“Eren you’re really good at English” I point out.

“Yeah my mum was Turkish and didn’t really speak any English, so I picked a lot up from her, but I’ve been in this country most of my life so English is more or less my mother tongue”

I hummed and nodded at his explanation and Eren leant over the table and took a shot, completely missing the white ball. 

“Eren. You shuck so much right now”

“Well!” He props a finger up into the air, as if to make some grand statement “your jokes are… so ‘corny’” Ha. I see what he did there, even if it takes me about three minutes to drunkenly figure it out. I’ll give him that; the boy is witty when he wants to be. I enjoy someone who can keep me on my toes. 

“Very funny, smartass, but seriously you suck at pool.” I was wasted and couldn’t care less that every other word was coming out slurred. 

“If it wasn’t a corn joke, was it an invitation?” He slurred in response, his voice dropping low and going all kinds of velvety and sexy. The way he fucking purred that last word sent shivers down me, straight to my groin. Having caught on to what he was suggesting, I leaned back against the pool table with crossed arms as he chalked his pool stick. (Quite literally, don’t get any filthy ideas, mind.) I tilted my head back slightly, looking at him through half-lidded eyes “and if it was?” I challenged. 

“Then I’d have to do this,” he said quickly and confidently as he attempted to strut over towards me, leaning his pool stick against the table and resting his hands on the sides of the table besides my hips. The shitty brat has at least a good ten centimetres of height on me, so he has to lean down considerably before levelling his face with mine. Once he locks slightly glazed eyes with my own my breath hitched slightly at the unexpected display of dominance. However, he falters at the last minute. I can feel his breath on my cheeks and lips. 

“What was that you were gonna do now, you little shit?” I drawled, clasping his chin with my hand firmly, the action pressing his cheeks up toward his mouth and nose, making him pout. It would have been adorable if I weren’t so turned on right now. There was a brief glint of hesitation in his eyes before he collected himself and pushed forwards past my hand, locking his lips with mine. 

We’re both fucking pissed as canaries right now so the kiss is sloppy and uncoordinated at best, but I cant help but relish in how soft those lips are. He moves his hands around my waist and I uncross mine to take a firm hold of his lovely ass, earning me a surprised jolt and a squeak from the younger man. As our mouths slide against one another I can smell the alcohol on his breath from his nose and I wouldn’t be surprised if he were experiencing the same. Thank fuck we were drinking the same thing.

I swipe my tongue against his lips, earning me entry into his magnificently hot mouth as he moans softly. Sure I’m drunk, but I usually remember things the next day and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to explore every fucking crevice of this beautifully warm cavern and commit it to memory. There are tongues fighting one another in a sloppy attempt at dominating the other, and teeth clash. It’s a hot mess. 

Eren groans into my mouth as I suddenly pull his hips towards mine, rolling my clothed semi up against his own. We both break away for a moment once our lungs are screaming for oxygen, and he rests his head in the crook of my neck, his arms still wrapped around my waist. 

“Hah… Fuck me, that was intense” Eren manages to pant out, subtly glancing up over his shoulder to see whom, if anyone was in the area. My eyes follow the same path, as public displays of dry-humping-on-a-pool-table aren’t usually my kinda thing. My shoulders start to shake under him and I’m laughing. The look of confusion on Eren’s face is halted when I answer to it.

“Is that an invitation?” 

\--- 

“Do you live with anyone?” Eren asks me as we stagger out from the bar at I don’t know when. It’s late, but it’s not that late. The Raki finished us off pretty quickly and we only got here a few hours ago. Its not midnight yet either way but it must be close. The fresh night air mixed with our earlier make-out-come-grinding session seems to have sobered us both up a fraction. 

“Yeah, but she’s not home. She’s away on business.” I say as I pull Eren down into another kiss just before leaving for the walk home. 

“Housemate?” He asks.

“Yeah, something like that” I say as a vague voice in the back of my head asks me what the fuck it is I think I’m doing. I quickly dismiss it and grab Eren’s hand with my own, linking our fingers and dragging him home towards the terraced houses.

\---

We reach the front door, having walked back practically fused at the hip and Eren’s arm is around my shoulder and mine is around his waist. I can feel the way his muscles move under his tee and it’s making my mouth water just being able to have my hands on him, however the hell I’d like. I let go of Eren who leans against the porch wall as he watches me fish my keys out from my back pocket. I drunkenly drop them and lean over to pick them up, purposefully putting on a little bit of a display for the boy behind me, giving my ass a little wiggle as I pick the keys up. 

Suddenly I feel a firm grip around my waist and a heavy weight against the backs of my legs whilst I’m still bent over and I have just enough time to right my posture as Eren presses me up against the front door, grinding himself against my rear. Slutty display of ‘accidentally dropping my keys’ rendered a success. 

“Jeez Eren, let me at least open the damn door before you throw yourself on me” I reprimand him with no real venom in my voice as I shove him off playfully and unlock the door. I put way too much focus into the small action, as if to convince myself I’m not as drunk as I clearly still am. I turn and fist my hands into Eren’s shirt and roughly pull him inside. Once inside with the door shut, my back hits the wall and I drop my keys as Eren assaults my mouth with his own once again. I moan shamelessly as he thumbs little circles into my hips. Damn that spot has always been sensitive. I briefly wonder what Eren’s erogenous zones are... 

Hands are everywhere, roaming and groping one another until I gently push him away. “Take your fucking shoes off,” I tell him, and he complies, and I take his hand again and pull him upstairs into to none other, than- 

“Have you got kids, Levi?” 

Fuck, wrong room. I push him away from the doorway and close it; mentally fucking kicking myself for being drunk enough to walk in there with my potential lay in hand. 

“No” I answer, pushing him forcefully into the correct bedroom. 

I push him back onto the bed and crawl up on top of him, straddling his waist. “Jesus fucking Christ, Eren I swear to god you need to get naked right now,” I growl at him, pulling at his belt and jeans. Fucking skinny jeans so fucking difficult to get into. Fucking young people. 

Eren simply complies by shimmying out from his jeans by himself as I whip off my shirt in one fell swoop. His eyes widen and his mouth hangs open once he lays eyes on my chest. 

“What, I may work as a fucking nerd for a living but I still work out” I grin. I’ve got a few small cut scars littered about but I’ve had years to get over any self-consciousness. They’re part of me I can’t change so why bother feeling embarrassed about them? 

Much like the excitable little brat he is, he runs his hands up and down my chest, admiring my well toned… Everything. Thank you Hange, for dragging me to those MMA classes. 

“Like what you see?” I scrape my teeth against the shell of his ear as I whisper, pressing my chest against his. The boy noticeably shudders beneath me so I see no reason to stop there. “I want you to completely wreck me tonight, Eren” I made sure to use my most seductive voice as I said his name. Seems to have done the trick as the next thing I know he’s flipping us over, kicking his pants off from his ankles, ripping his shirt off and briskly removing my pants and boxers. I’m still fairly drunk but I don’t think even if I were sober I could care much at the rough manhandling to get me naked. I just need him in me. Right now. 

Eren slowly trails his hands down my chest and sides, seemingly relishing in the feel of the taut muscles beneath my heated skin. 

“Is that so?” Eren practically growls as he looks up at me, the green in his eyes has melted into a burning shade of gold. He looks as if he’s about to eat me. Not that I’d complain. So having lost the underwear, we’re now both officially naked. We’re also sweaty drunken messes and he nestles himself between my legs leaving sloppy kisses and bite marks down the line of my hips, causing me to shamelessly moan out variations of ‘fuck’, ‘shit’, ‘Eren’, and various other religious profanities. Sometimes even a mixture of all of them in one. 

“Oh, so you’re pretty sensitive here, huh?” Eren grins up at me with the same look in those burning eyes, clamping his lips above my left hip bone and sucking hard. Fuck that’s gonna leave a mark. I let out a mewling cry in response and he turns his attention south.

“About fucking time,” I muttered after catching my breath, loosening my death-grip on the sheets.

Eren slowly lolls his tongue out, teasingly dipping his head down to lick a wet strip along the underside of my now fully erect cock. I shudder at the tingling sensation as he slowly blows on the saliva, making me writhe and shudder as my cock twitches at the sensation. 

He gives me a playful tug with one hand, resting the other just above my left hip to draw soothing circles with his thumb. He proceeds to gently run his other thumb along the slit, and upon not feeling much pre-come, he leaves a wet kiss on the head before lowering that gloriously hot mouth over the entire end of my cock. Sweet baby Jesus I almost forgot how good this feels. 

“Nnh, Jesus-titty-fucking!” Eren simply hums around my cock, sending jolts of pleasure up my spine and making my hips spasm upward into his mouth. He must have been pre-empting this, as his hand on my hip keeps my thrusts from choking him as he works his mouth up and down in fluid, quickening motions. I instinctively run my hands down to his hair, gripping his messy bangs tightly as he continues his ministrations. 

Another bolt of pleasure later and I give his hair a firm pull, forcing Eren to groan in pleasure and remove himself from my now pink and wet erection. 

“I can’t wait any fucking longer.” 

I roll away and lean over to my nightstand, sloppily pulling out the bottom drawer with a little too much force, tugging the entire drawer out. A few miscellaneous, anonymous objects go rolling off along the floor into the darkness somewhere. I’m still a bit buzzed and I couldn’t care less about making a mess. I grab a small tube and a condom or four and practically throw them at Eren as I pull myself back onto the bed and onto my back. 

Eren barely catches the lube, it would seem sucking a dick is a magnificent way of significantly sobering two individuals up. This is definitely something I need to be sober for. I wouldn’t want to miss the look in those beautiful eyes for the world. Eren drizzles a little bit of lube over his fingers and slicks them up before rubbing a finger at my entrance. I gladly spread my legs like some common whore for this tanned Adonis before me and gasp slightly as he pushes the first finger in. 

It’s a little uncomfortable at first but I figure ‘fuck it’. It’s all or nothing with me. I can tell he’s being careful, trying to ease me into it and I appreciate the gesture, but I roll my hips so as to envelop his entire finger to the second knuckle. 

“Someone’s impatient” Eren snickered.

“Just fuck me already!” 

“Your wish is my command” Eren chuckled somewhat as he pushed in another slick digit, gently pushing them in and out and scissoring them. I on the other hand am just lying there rolling around in somewhat uncomfortable pleasure as I adjust to the burning sensation. 

“Unless you’re looking for shit, you ain’t gonna find anyt- Fuck!” Just as I chastise him for taking his dear sweet time and apparently digging for gold, he strikes oil. He strokes his fingers against that glorious bundle of nerves, shooting white-hot pleasure straight up my spine to my brain, making me see stars. 

Eren simply grins at me as he continues to assault my prostate with his fingers before I get truly frustrated with him and reach up to grab his hair, pulling him on top of me with a firm, sloppy kiss. He takes the hint and removes his fingers as I force my tongue past his lips, exploring that hot wet cavern once again. I don’t think I could ever get tired of kissing this brat. 

We both grunt a little as he pulls back and sits back on his haunches. His cock is beautiful, that’s for sure. It’s just the right amount of length, although it’s not too thick. It’s got a pretty decent curve to it, which more than makes up for that. He briskly slips a condom on, covering himself with plenty of lube. He pours the fucking stuff over his cock as if it were syrup over a goddamn sundae. A sundae I wouldn’t mind tasting, I must admit. I’ll save that for another time. Or perhaps later tonight.

“What’s so funny?” Eren asked as he lined up his cock to my hastily prepared entrance. The delicious ice creamy thoughts of mine must have ‘melted’ into a physical facial expression. 

“I was just thinking about how good your cock wou- t-taste!” I all but mewled the last part as he quickly pushed inside me. The bastard was probably waiting to interrupt me. Any chance of me sounding remotely sexy flies straight out the window. Goodbye. 

“Hah... Levi you’re so fucking tight!” 

“You’re just fucking needlessly huge!” I tug at his hair again and he lets out a long moan, leaning down to kiss me deeply as he pushes all the way into me. So the brat’s a bit of a masochist, that one’s just been filed away for future reference. I proceed to wrap my arms around his back, clinging to him as if he were to disappear if I didn’t. He stills once he’s fully seated he leans back up to look me in the eyes. I give him a subtle nod and adjust the angle of my hips slightly, giving him permission to move. 

His thrusts start out languid and slow, pulling out until just the tip remains in and then thrusting back in a little quicker each time. The slight pain soon gives way to pleasure as he starts making the most delectable noises; sweat sticking his bangs to his forehead as he thrusts into me repeatedly. His thrusts get quicker and slightly more erratic so I can tell he’s getting close. I’m not far off myself. His little fellatio stunt earlier ensured I was close before we’d even begun. Again, not complaining. 

Despite the skin slapping skin, bestial grunts and sweat dripping and mixing everywhere, I can’t bring myself to feel disgusted because Eren pulls one of my legs up over his shoulder to position my hips a fraction higher and starts pounding directly into my prostate. If I thought I was seeing stars earlier, I’m seeing fucking cartoon birds swirling around my head now. Fuck this boy is so good. 

I rake my nails down the curve of his shoulder blades and my mental note from earlier is confirmed. The sharp pain renders him completely still for a second as he rides through the peak of his orgasm. I follow shortly after; tossing my head back and grasping at the sheets again as I stiffen into a painfully toe-curling, bone dry orgasm. Eren slowly slumps his shoulders and grips at the condom to pull out, tossing himself to my side as we pant heavily and steady our breathing. 

“Holy fuck, Levi. You’re so hot” 

“Says you” I retort with a lazy grin on my face. As Eren sits up to remove the condom and tie it off for the bin, he seems to notice. 

“Levi?” he sits up properly, looking at my stomach. “Did you just?” 

I follow his gaze down towards my reasonably dry stomach, having enjoyed my blinding orgasm but not come a single drop. 

“Yeah, that happens” I say, not really wanting to discuss it. Eren simply hums, so I make sure I’m quick to re-assure him. “That was quite possibly the best fuck I’ve ever had.”

“Heh, me too” He smiles warmly at me, rolling over a little and wrapping an arm around me. 

“Don’t get too fucking comfortable, we’re sweatier than a fat man’s summer ass crack and like hell am I sleeping in this shit.” Indicating the lube smeared all over my thighs and Eren’s stomach. As tired as I was due to the alcohol mixed with the physical exertion, I knew I’d feel worse for sleeping in this crime scene of a fucking filthy bed. 

I forced his ass up and off the bed with a firm slap and he whelped pathetically as I pushed him into the en-suite for a quick shower. Somewhere along the thin line of getting clean and going to bed, his cock may or may not have found it’s way into my mouth and back into my ass. 

Possibly more than once.


	4. ...When They're Playing

The sun peeks its motherfucking unwelcome glare through my bedroom curtains which I had drunkenly forgotten to close last night, and I hold up my most sincere middle finger at the window for waking me up so rudely and kick-starting my throbbing hangover. Eren is more or less latched onto my side as we sleep in a tangle of limbs and as he stirs beside me, he gently kisses me along the cheek and neck. I could get used to this. 

When he goes to tilt my chin towards his lips I snap my head back. “Fuck no, your morning breath smells like a fucking sphincter. I don’t want to taste that shit.” He doesn’t seem phased by the rejection and just bounds out of bed, buck naked like the happy little retard he is.

“Yeah, wouldn’t want you tasting your own ass now, would we?” he sasses back at me as he grinned over his shoulder, making his way over to the bathroom to steal my mouthwash. Yeah, don’t bother asking or anything. 

“Help yourself,” I groan sarcastically, trying to cover the light from the window with my arm after prying my eyes away from his fine, firm arse cheeks that are staring at me from the bathroom.

When was the last time I had sex that good? I mean hot _damn_ that boy can move. I don’t even want to think of the pain in the ass he’s going to be once I try to get out of bed. Literally speaking, of course. I lie back into bed and vaguely wonder what the time is. I mean sure, it’s a Wednesday and I don’t have work today, but something just feels off. It’s that strange feeling of feeling like I am forgetting something... but what? It’s like when you leave the house knowing you’ve forgotten something, but you don’t know exactly what until the moment you need it. I stretch out in bed lazily as I ponder and Eren calls over to ask if he can use some floss. I simply nod and cover my eyes again, rolling away from the window to get a little more sleep. 

The realisation suddenly hits me like a brick to the face and I jolt myself out of bed quicker than Eren’s dick ‘accidentally’ slipped down my throat last night for the umpteenth time. Fuck! Royal fucking titshits! I scramble from the sheets and very briskly end up thudding onto the floor along with half of the duvet thanks to my jellied legs, causing Eren to turn around and chuckle in clear amusement. Glad to see I’m amusing you, you little shit. 

“Sore?” He asks. 

“Fuck off” 

“I’d rather fuck you- _Oh wait!_ ” He giggled as he put extra accentuation on the last word, biting his lip in a most tantalising way and with an obvious glimmer of amusement in those green eyes. 

I grunt a few curses under my breath and briskly proceed to gather all of Eren’s clothes, practically throwing them onto him in the bathroom in my rush. I take a moment whilst going between items to try to fold them at least, I may be in a rush but I’m not rude, jeez. Even if I am throwing half folded clothes at him when he’s not expecting it, only for them to either fall to the floor or unfold in his fumble to catch them. He looks pretty confused but seems to finally put two and two together when he hears the front door close. 

“You have to get dressed. Now.” I warn him sternly with zero amusement in my eyes. 

“What’s going on Levi?” he looks a little bit more serious now, slipping his day old boxers back on. Gross. 

“Just... My housemate is back. I sort of promised her I wouldn’t have anyone over, so she’ll be royally pissed if she finds you here. Okay?” He must have sensed the desperation in my voice as I ran about picking up three, four, five open and empty condom packets from the floor along with most of the contents of the bottom drawer that rolled out last night, putting everything into a rushed sense of order. 

“Um, okay? Shall I just wait in here while you distract her?” he asks calmly, the amusement back on his face after my little explanation. I nod and briskly proceed to close the bathroom door. 

“Get dressed and I don’t want to hear a fucking peep out of you until I say so” I warn him, giving him a white-hot glare that could cut glass as I point my finger at him, the other hand on the door handle. He blows me a silly little kiss and winks as he closes the door. I sigh a slight breath of relief as I hear the door click shut and the lock twist. I briskly make a particular side of the bed, making it seem I’d only just woken up and that I’d clearly been the only person sleeping here last night…

The bedroom door opens and I’m halfway into a pair of jeans, sat on the small chair, shirtless, beside the wardrobe. A head of orange hair pokes its way into the room and amber eyes scan the room slowly before settling on me. I’m pretty anal (ha) about my sense of order and cleanliness, so nothing should look too far out of place, aside from my unmade half of the bed.

“Petra.” 

“Hey Levi.” 

“How was the trip?” 

“It was okay, lots of big-headed industry egos, so nothing worth mentioning. Why does it smell like something died in here?” I take an experimental whiff but can’t smell anything. It wouldn’t surprise me if the room smelt like hot sex and even hotter ass, given how Eren and I were behaving last night. I’m probably used to the smell. Petra scrunches her nose up a little as she walks over to my side of the room towards the window, pushing it open. 

“Hey, Levi?” I recognise that tone of voice… she’s about to say something I don’t want to hear. “I missed you, you know.” Petra says as she walked closer to me after shrugging off her blazer and starting to unbutton her blouse, resting her hands over my shoulders. I gave her a noncommittal grunt and placed a light kiss on her forehead before pulling her into a short hug. What the fuck have I done?

“I missed you too,” I say out of habit more than anything else. I don’t particularly feel as though I love her like I once did, but I still enjoy her company as one of my only and best friends. As I gently hug her, I glance at the bathroom door, which thankfully was still shut, its half naked contents still silent. That would just cause all sorts of drama I’m not in the mood to deal with right now. It doesn’t stop my thoughts from running away with ideas of what ifs though. Petra’s sweet voice snaps me out of my internal distraction not long after. 

“I’m not staying long, Levi. I just came by to take a shower and get a change of clothes and I’m heading back to work for two meetings, then I’m _all yours_ ” she smiled. Jesus, that smile was so fucking sweet it tore me apart just looking at it. It was as if all the issues she left with didn’t come back with her after her work convention, and that they mysteriously crept out from the house when I wasn’t looking. 

She wandered over to the wardrobe to slip off her heels and placed them neatly on her side on the rack. It always bothered me that she’d never colour-co-ordinate her wardrobe, but we used separate sides so at least I wouldn’t have to look at it. 

Wait a second. 

Hold up, brain. Rewind. 

Fuck, she just said she wants to take a shower. Levi. Distract her, quick! 

I cleared my throat and mumbled out with my best sarcasm-laced “Oh, _what fun!_ ” and roll my eyes as I folded my arms against my chest. 

Petra clearly took the bait and looked at me, frowning. Hook line and sinker, baby. Boy I was about to regret this. “You could at least try to sound interested in saving our marriage, Levi” she scowled, pulling away from my embrace. “You don’t even wear your ring any more, it’s like we’re already separated!” 

I couldn’t help but want to rile her up so she’d leave. It’s not as if I wouldn’t be spouting lies, after all.  
“Aren’t we, though?” I shrugged. “I sleep on the guest bed more than this one, and when I do sleep here it’s because you’re not.” That seemed to do the trick and Petra’s eyes lit aflame and her voice erupted into one of her chastising tones that irritated me so much.

“Well excuse me for trying to salvage the train wreck of a situation of being married to Levi Ackerman!” 

I’ll have to admit, that one hurt. I didn’t let many people close to me whilst growing up and I’d thought Petra was one of my best friends. I understood in the moment I was right and her anger was just saying things I told myself she didn’t mean, but it still hurt nonetheless. With my lack of response aside from a bland, emotionless expression (to mask my hurt), Petra scrunched her face up. I was successfully making her angry. If they say hell hath no fury for a woman scorned, what do you call the suicidal bastard who seeks to scorn her? 

“You know what Levi. Fine. Since we can’t have a single fucking conversation without it turning into an argument I’m going to walk away now before you goad me into anything else.” 

“Did I say anything?” I grinned smugly. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t getting a rise out of this.

“Is this about the kids again, Levi?” 

“Don’t even go there, Petra.” I warn her. I must subconsciously feel that there’s a second blow coming soon.

“It is, isn’t it?” she persists. 

“As you’re damn well aware I’m apparently too fucked up to make you happy, why not go find a _real man_ who can provide it for you.” I spat more venomously than probably intended. It felt horrible saying it, but it also felt achingly true.

She paused whilst her rage caught up with her before spitting back “maybe I will!”

Heated amber locked with ice grey eyes, and Petra sighed before turning to leave the room. She looked so fucking heartbroken, I mentally kicked myself before throwing myself back into the seat by the wardrobe, running my hands through my hair with a loud exhale as I heard the bedroom door click shut. Her soft footsteps became quieter as she walked away. I let out a frustrated yell and smacked a few skin projects from off the drawer unit beside me, sending them clattering across the floor loudly. 

Eren clearly waited a few moments before slowly unlocking the door and opening it. He looked several shades of angry, but he knew he had to be quiet so he just ended up looking constipated with rage. It was pretty cute, despite the second, arguably worse shit storm I knew was coming. I knew how to handle Petra when she was angry, I’d known her for years, but I’d known Eren for less than twenty-four hours. 

“You’re fucking _married_?” he fumed quietly through gritted teeth and jabbed a finger towards the door as I pulled a shirt on as casually as the situation would allow. 

I shrugged nonchalantly and decided that looking over at the window would be much more appropriate. What was I feeling? Perhaps shame? But over what? I got the feeling that I was more upset about possibly losing Eren than I was over Petra, however how could I lose Eren? He wasn’t even mine to lose, like I say, less than twenty-four hours. 

Sure it’d been less than a day, but I knew that something was different when I was with Eren. This one wasn’t worth losing and I knew that enough to attempt to salvage the situation, almost uncharacteristically, borderline desperate. “Will you at least let me explain?”

A sharp pain suddenly erupted across my left cheek. Did he just slap me? I suppose I deserved that. 

“When the fuck were you planning on telling me you’re married? Was this before or after I fucked you into the mattress last night? Or was it never?” I went to open my mouth to respond but Eren cut me off. 

“Just. You know what, fuck it. I will do you one last favour, so get out there and fucking distract her so I can get the fuck out of here without her spotting me.” He pointed to the door with a rigid arm.

“Eren, please?”

He clenched his eyes shut with brimming anger and jolted his arm straight, still pointing at the door. I hesitated as I tried to figure out something else I could say or do to calm him down. Turns out Eren is hot headed and impatient when he’s angry, but alarmingly retains most of his intelligence. I could tell that getting on his bad side would be dangerous and unforgiving.  
“I’ll just go and introduce myself then, shall I?” He turned on his heel and started towards the bedroom door. 

In the heat of the moment I shouted louder than I'd have liked to, “No!” and lunged to grab his arm. He ripped his arm away from my grasp and simply glared at me as if I’d just made the worst choice possible. I’d just chosen her over him. I couldn’t help but regret it instantly. 

So I left the bedroom and headed downstairs to find the house empty. I checked out the window and Petra’s car had gone. I yelled up the stairs “she’s gone” and Eren stormed out and down the steps with the grace of a stampede of elephants. He was muttering something like ‘idiot’ under his breath alongside some other presumably curse words in Turkish, but I kept my silence. I told myself I should be happy; I avoided a major crisis with my significant other. But why do I feel as if something’s missing? 

\--- 

Hange berated me all fucking day about my date when I arrived to work on Thursday, so I told her the bare minimum. Had some drinks, went home, had mind-blowing sex with a tanned, svelte sex god. Okay, maybe I didn’t disclose that last piece of information. I was tempted to though. 

“Levi, you’ve been in a bad mood all day. What’s up?” 

“What’s new? I’m always in a bad mood, moron” Fuck her and her shitty ways of knowing me so well. I suppose years of friendship or whatever you want to call this relationship we have will do that to two people. Much to my disdain sometimes, she can read me like a fucking book. Although lately I suppose my bad mood has escalated to more than just my usual uninterested, somewhat uncaring demeanour. I’ve been borderline manstruating since Eren walked out. 

“Touché, mon petit amie en colère” As much as I hated her stupid nicknames for me, I couldn’t deny either statement. I am short and I’m currently angry, plain fact right there.

A few days into the next week with me still being in a foul mood, Hange finally pipes up about it in her own special sort of way…“I booked us in for a class.” The fuck? 

I turned to glare daggers at her, knitting my brows together into an expression that stated ‘are you fucking kidding me right now?’ She took my silence as her cue to return to her babbling. 

“It’s at the gym. I figured you’d want to get some of that excess stress out of that hot little body of yours!” 

I soften my frown enough to show her I’m listening. I could seriously use some time to vent, and what better than to punch mindlessly at a sack of Hange- I mean sand. Sack of sand. Maybe she booked me in for one of those mixed martial arts classes again. She’s batshit crazy most of the time but really knows how to cheer me up. I love and deeply appreciate her for it, even though I’d probably never say it out loud. 

I let a long ass silence drag out since she brought it up. It must have been at least half an hour. 

“Fine” 

“Huh? ‘fine’ what?” 

I turned to give her another glare before letting out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll fucking go, now do some fucking work” 

She squealed and saluted with a hand fisted against her chest. “Aye aye, Captain!” 

\---

So it’s eight-thirty and I’m stood in the gym hall waiting for this instructor to show up. I didn’t feel like putting any effort into my appearance tonight so I wore my grey sweatpants and a Stones vest with ‘It’s only rock and roll’ printed across the front, followed by ‘But I like it’ printed on the back. Hange had previously drawn on the back’s phrase, adding a T to But, and drawing an arrow down to where my ass is. Another actual quite amusing Hange moment. 

It was about two sizes too big, so it would drape a little lower than it should, revealing my collarbones quite nicely. For bumming-about-the-house clothes, I still looked pretty hot. Or so Hange liked to repeatedly remind me. 

We were sat on the mats casually stretching out our legs when a tall woman walked in with a long crate case in her hand. Perhaps she’s got Bo staffs in there and we’re doing some tae kwon do. I should be so fucking lucky. Hange was grinning like a madwoman and I soon found out why. 

“Hi all, I’m Nanaba and I’ll be running you through the intermediate and advanced pole class tonight.” She started opening the large box and removed five short poles, which extended and fixed securely to the ceiling and floors without the need for any bolts. I wasn’t sure how safe this was going to be, but I didn’t particularly like being the butt of another one of Hange’s ridiculous jokes. So I stood, and I started to walk out. Fuck this. 

As fate would have it, destiny wanted me in this class because Hange practically leapt onto me, sending us both crashing to the mats again. She had a terrifying look in her eyes that I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen before. I was like she wanted to eat me, but most definitely not in an Eren kind of way. She looked about ready to carve me up and feed me to her microscopic test subjects she’d named after famous cannibals. I groaned and sat back down, Hange whispering over to me as the poles were being fixed into place. 

“Give it a go! You may enjoy it. Besides, I hear it’s a killer workout” 

I frowned and decided I may at least attempt to get a half decent workout out of this. I was at the gym, I may as well try to break a sweat. I started feeling restless if I didn’t at least have an hour of exercise a day and I’d skipped my run this morning. 

Nanaba gently explained to us and did a few demonstrations with the pole. She gave us the brief explanation of which muscles were being used for each move, and how to really break a sweat. I was used to heavy lifting, so supporting my own weight was fine. However when you have to do it fucking sideways using only your wrists, Jesus! 

As much as I hate to admit it, I was having fun. Not to mention this Nanaba had a pretty decent soundtrack playing so it was easy to lose myself into the focus required to execute the intricate lifts and spins. By the time her soundtrack had switched over to ‘Diamonds’ by Rihanna, I was practically writhing on the floor and giving the ladies of the class my best demonstration of a slightly slutty body roll against the pole. 

There were whoops and hollers from the women of the class, funny I was the only guy, somehow that didn’t surprise me. The exercise was brutal, but it was mostly all core-strength based, and I have a pretty solid core what with doing crunches every day since birth. All right, so I’m exaggerating a little bit. 

_You’re a shooting star I see_

I pull myself back up onto the pole, feeling the burn in my abdominals as I slowly lift my legs sideways. I close my eyes as I slowly lower myself down, back arched and legs spread.

_A vision of ecstasy_

Knees spread aside the pole I can’t help but receive a flash of brilliant green behind my eyelids. That fucking brat’s perfect eyes, full of life and lust, the colour of the sea. That sun-kissed Mediterranean skin. Those soft lips. 

_When you hold me, I’m alive_

I pull my arms back up onto the pole, rolling my crotch against the base of it languidly along to the beat of the music, reminiscent of my one night stand with the tanned beauty who stumbled across the same teahouse table as me. 

_We’re like diamonds in the sky…_

The hollering of the women had blurred out into a soft murmur in my ears. I heard none of it. I could hear Eren’s soft moans and I could feel my hand brushing through my hair as I stood back up slowly. 

My little display over, I knew what I had to do, a fierce look of determination in my molten grey eyes. However as timing would have it, Hange burst my perfect little bubble with a loud hoot in my face. I’m pretty sure I now have samples of her saliva floating around on my corneas. Revolting. 

“Whoa there! Where the devil did you learn moves like that?!” she honked as delicately as a mating goose. 

I shrugged and gave her a grunt in response and wiped my sweaty bangs out of my face, walking over to my water bottle, painfully aware that all female eyes in the room were directed at my ass as I bent over. The sign on my back didn’t help. Or maybe it did, suppose it depends on how you look at it. 

As I turned I offered her a simple “It’s all in the arms” and shamelessly flexed my right bicep, revelling in how all the ladies had no clue I preferred dick to pussy (or that I was married). Levi one, ogling gym-goers zero. Ha. As they say, appreciate the small things; celebrate the small victories or some bullshit like that. However the fuck that saying goes, needless to say I left the gym that night with mixed feelings. Sure, I’d managed to let out a little bit of (sexy) steam, but I’d also failed in getting my mind off that brat. 

I doubt he’d ever want to speak to me again, not that I even managed to get his phone number. I sort of feel as if I lied to him, by omission. I guess that was a bit of a dick move. 

All right, a lot of a dick move.


	5. You Can't Disguise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Croissants, pickled onion crisps and hot chocolate. That's all I'm giving you. 
> 
> Either way, it's all delicious, enjoy!

It’s almost been three weeks since our date and I’ve been in a pretty foul fucking mood ever since the morning after. The whole scenario repeats in my head whenever I get a moment to myself and I catch myself stewing over what I should have done differently. It’s driving me up the fucking walls. 

If we’re already drifting into separation, does it still count as an affair? I understand that yes, morally it could be classed as infidelity, since we’re not technically divorced. We’ve not slept consistently in the same bed for almost a year, and she’s been spending more and more of her time at her parent’s house.

I find myself at Maria’s every day for lunch, and I also find a tight feeling build up in my chest whenever I spot any tall, tanned brown-haired men, only to be grossly disappointed when I realise it’s not Eren. It was a one-night thing, why am I so worked up over that green-eyed brat? Speaking of the devil… 

About one hour into my shift I get a text from an unknown number. It’s essentially telling me to go to Maria’s for my lunch and whoever this is will meet me there. I had spent the last two weeks convincing myself Eren wouldn’t want to see me again, and surely this could only be him, given we’d met at Maria’s. I don’t remember ever giving him my number although regardless I found myself sighing quietly with relief. Maybe I gave it to him when we’d had a few drinks and I just forgot. Perhaps I’d be able to finally explain myself… Maybe even have an opportunity to ask for a second chance. As ridiculous as it sounds coming from me, it’s the only thing I want Eren to consider, even if he says no. 

“Mr Ackerman?” Moblit asked calmly, snapping me free from my constricting thoughts. He gestured towards the corner of the lab where Hange had started swaying gently and singing lullabies to the petri dishes cradled in her arms. “Is that normal?” He winced. 

She clearly heard him (and caught my exasperated sigh and eye roll) because she turned to state in a singsong voice “It helps them to grooow!” 

It was in that moment that I received a grim reminder. If there is a God, he fucking hates me. Fact. 

“Nothing that woman does is remotely normal,” I groan, trying to stress my infuriation with Hange with a pointed glare directed at the back of her head. “You know what, fuck it. I’m going.” 

“Uh, it’s only eleven, Sir?” Moblit carefully asked me, and I realised how early it indeed was. I didn’t usually take lunch until at least two or three. 

“Eh, I’ll do the rotas when I get back, so I’ll go straight to the office instead of here” I lied. I’d already done the rota and not posted it yet, so I could swing it to get myself a longer lunch today. The last thing I needed in my bad mood was to have to deal with people. Moblit decided to accept my lie with a slow nod. Whether he believed it or not was another matter, but thankfully he didn’t press it any further. 

“Bye bye, sweetie!” I heard Hange sing as I stomped out into the decontamination chamber and removed my mask and gloves. 

I took my time getting clean and pulled on a pair of old sweatpants and a shirt, not particularly caring about my appearance today. I combed my hair with my fingers and jabbed the button to the service lift. The doors open with a ‘ding’ and a trio of security guards walk out. One I recognised from the front door, the stocky blonde one with the permanent smug look on his meaty face. He was followed by a short blonde girl with a miserable expression holding hands with a fucking big ass tree of a man who had to lean down to not hit his baby looking face into the overhead pipes. As soon as the blonde one spotted me outside the lift, she rapidly jerked her hand away from the brunette’s. 

I trudged out of the building and fished through my back pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting up before starting my walk. I try my best to not smoke as much these days, but given how fucking nervous I am of the prospect of Eren being at Maria’s, I can’t help it. Besides, it’s a five-minute walk and I’ll be done in three, max. Enough time to chew down a breath mint. 

I let myself into the quirky café and my eyes are scanning the seats. I don’t see Eren anywhere, but then again I _am_ early. I wander over to the counter and there’s a tall brunette woman with freckles stood behind the counter giving me a bored look. I match hers with my own and tell her blandly to get me a lavender and liquorice tea and a croissant. I pay and move over to the little table with the red seats under the tea-lit mirror and patiently wait. The blinds on the door clatter and the bell rings, indicating someone entering and I don’t make anything of it until there’s a shadow covering my table and a man is taking a seat opposite me. 

My eyes widen fractionally in recognition and I glare as the sun-worn, slightly haggard man sits down and makes himself comfortable. He’s wearing a white button down and a long leather trench coat, black pants and some dark leather ranch boots. He stinks of cigarettes and cheap cologne and the sight of him turns my stomach. He’s topped it all off with a tatty looking black hat with a white trim. It’s the same fucking hat as fucking years ago.

“What the fuck, Kenny?” 

“You haven’t changed much, I see” he smiles. 

“What the fuck do you want?”

“Is it _so_ unrealistic for me to want to have a catch up with my _favourite_ nephew?” 

“Fuck yes” 

“Now now, Levi. Can’t we have a civilised conversation for once that doesn’t start _and_ end with the word fuck?”

“Fuck off” 

He sighs and takes his hat off; setting it onto the table as freckles brings my individual teapot over and a small plate with a croissant. She politely (if a little monotonously) asks if she could get the old bastard anything and he just as politely declines. It’s sickening to watch. 

“Cut to the fucking chase. What the fuck do you want?” I snarled just under my breath once freckles was just out of earshot, completely ignoring my food. Suddenly I wasn’t hungry any more. 

“The industry isn’t what it used to be without you, Levi” he started. I knew exactly where the fuck he was going with this so I cut him off faster than flies to shit.

“No.” 

“Now, Levi”

“I said No” I wasn’t giving this fucker the satisfaction. “Who the fuck do you think you are, showing up out of the blue after ten fucking years and asking me to work for you again? Find someone else, I’m not interested.” 

“Very well, Levi. But do let me know if you change your mind.” He stood to leave “It would be a pleasure making the most of your _expertise_ again” 

“Fuck off and find someone else.” I turned my attention back to my croissant and took my seething anger out on the pastry instead of letting it show on my face. It was then I realised how hungry I was and tried my best to ignore him as he quietly left. 

\--- 

“He’s got some fucking _nerve_ showing up like that!” I bellowed across Erwin’s office. He simply sat behind his glass desk munching on a packet of pickled onion crisps, watching me pace. That’s one of the things I liked about Erwin. He’s the CEO of a multi-billion dollar pharmaceuticals company but the simple pleasures of life weren’t something he treated as below himself. If he wanted to munch on a cheap bag of disgusting ass flavoured salt, I wouldn’t stop him. 

It had taken me hours of waiting to see him once he was done with meetings, so I was even more enraged by the time I made it upstairs to the top floor. He simply allowed me to vent the bulk of my anger out and I managed to not throw any of his desk ornaments across the office, again. Go me. 

“Are you done?” He quietly asked once I’d stopped pacing and sat down.

“Your office fucking reeks” 

He simply smiled at that ugly ass lime green packet as he folded it in half and slid it under his desk into the bin. He observed me with those calculating ice blue eyes for a moment as he tongued the pieces of chewed crisp from his teeth with a slight sucking noise. How disgusting. 

“You’re right, Levi.” He started. Good choice of words, my man. I nodded for him to continue. “Do you really expect he’s going to respect your choice to decline his offer?”

“Like hell I do…” I started angrily, but trailed off slightly into a pause. I was quiet for a long moment as the gravity sunk in “what do we do?” 

Erwin furrowed his brows a little and tapped away at his iPad for a moment, as if our conversation wasn’t happening. “Let me make some phone calls, just try to keep out of trouble for the meantime, okay?” 

I nodded and got up to leave. Erwin said as I left “I mean it Levi. Be careful.” 

I tapped the button for the ground floor and stood in the corner of the glass elevator as it gradually filled, the lower it got. By now it was just gone six, and I was getting hungry considering all I’d eaten today was half a croissant and a cup of tea. An old colleague of mine, Dita Ness was standing waiting for the elevator on the thirtieth floor with a group of teenage brats in tow. Ah, I remember, he took up the training position for all the fucking interns and newbies we take on as a company. Thank fuck their little ‘house tour’ didn’t come into the subs, else I’d be inundated with butt-picking, snot nosed children. Not my idea of fun, I can tell you. 

The butt-pickers all filed in and I gave Dita a nod and a quick handshake as he greeted me.

“Levi, long time no see! How are they treating you down there? It’s rare to see you out and about in the land of the living” he laughed heartily and adjusted the bandana he usually wore around his forehead, most likely to shield the world from his male pattern balding kicking in early. 

“Ness” I responded. 

“Still as talkative as ever I see. I’ve got my fresh crop of faces in today, aren’t they a beauty?” 

I turned to ‘survey his crops’ as it were, and there were a bunch of (albeit well groomed) snot-nosed brats in lab coats. One was short, with a blonde bowl cut that looked a little like a mushroom; another had the most ridiculous two-toned hair I’d ever seen. There was a pair at the far side of the lift making stupid faces at one another and a few other backs of heads I simply scanned, disinterested.

“Any promising ones for me?” I grinned; he knew I didn’t give a flying fuck about driven young teenagers wanting to make it into high-paid pharmaceutical sales jobs. I bet the long-faced, two-toned hair geezer wants to go into sales. With a horse face like that they’d be eating the hay from his hoofed hands. 

“Yeah, actually” He paused as the elevator stopped around the twenty-third floor to let more people in. These were surprisingly big lifts. “This one right here, hey Arlert!” 

“Arlert, huh?” Dita just nodded and waffled on about how the kid was some sort of scientific prodigy based off his professor’s reports. He was the blonde, meek looking kid with the grown out bowl cut. He mumbled out a weak “nice to meet you” and practically fucking blushed at the praise.

“Anyone else?” I asked.

“Well we’ve got Yeager, who would give you a run for your money. The kid’s got spunk!” he laughs and points the brat out. The kid had messy brown hair and was staring out the glass elevator the entire ride down. He spun around upon hearing his name called and my eyes instantly locked with green. Fuck. 

We both looked as surprised as each other before I managed to reign in my expression and turned back to Nessy to change the subject. I could practically feel Eren’s angry glare boring through the side of my face and I could almost feel the heat of his unresolved rage turning up the thermostat in the elevator. Suddenly the air felt significantly thicker. Uncomfortably so…

“Ahem. Where are all your little shit stains heading next?” 

“Ah, I’m taking them down to the lobby so they can clock out for the day. I on the other hand am heading over to the mess hall for some grub before round two. You ought to come up into the daylight and we can get lunch one of these days?”

“As if, the cafeteria food’s fine if you like eating chicken shit and pig slop” I hoped I was painting an accurate image for these brats. The building’s canteen food was essentially animal shite, churned up into patties and pressed against a grill. I’d rather eat vomit pancakes.

“Tch, its not that bad, Levi.” 

“I’ll believe that when pigs fly.” 

“I’m sure you of all people would be able to develop a serum to make that happen,” he snickered. 

I went to retort and the conversation was interrupted when the elevator came to a halt and everyone started filing out. I nodded a goodbye to Dita and had to jog a little to catch up with the little shit stain that I hadn’t seen for almost a fucking month. 

“Eren! Fuck, wait will you!” He didn’t slow down until I caught hold of his arm. 

“Get the fuck off me, what do _you_ want?!” he snapped, flinching his arm away as if he’d been burned.

“Let me explain, you little asswipe. Whatever you think is going on, it isn’t what-“ 

“Maria’s?” 

I was expecting some sort of snarky reply or perhaps him just ignoring me and storming off in a stubborn tantrum, so I was thrown a bit by his reply. “Huh?” I didn’t hide my confusion. I’d been thrown for a loop. 

“I’m getting a drink from the teashop before I go home. This had better be a fucking _masterpiece_ of an explanation.” 

I took what I was given and simply nodded, swiping us out of the security gates at the front door and nodding again to the burly blonde gorilla security guard who had apparently re-manned his station. 

\--- 

The short five-minute walk to the teahouse was heavy enough that a cigarette on the way didn’t even touch my nerves. Eren gave me a slight frown as I lit up but otherwise said nothing. The tension was thick between the two of us and I was almost relieved to get within the confines of a booth of colourfully upholstered benches. Different fabric on each one, of course. Thankfully our orders arrived pretty much as soon as we sat down, which was useful. I didn’t want anyone walking into this conversation halfway through. I needed to get it all out quick. Rip off some more metaphorical hair around another metaphorical Band-Aid.

Eren remained quiet, looking down at my hands briefly. It was moments like this I was somewhat pleased I didn’t wear my ring any more. He looked back up expectantly, so I started. 

“So…” 

“I’m waiting.” He snapped impatiently, glaring at me. 

“Yeah…” I let out an uncomfortable breath of air before continuing, “I’m sorry, I was a royal dickhead, and I fucked up.” 

He laughed incredulously as if to agree with a ‘that’s a fucking statement of the century’. I was quick however to follow my point up, as now I had him I had no plans on letting him get away so easily. 

“We’ve been married for about three years, but after I got… after we couldn’t…” I scrunched my face up into a frown and groaned in frustration. “It’s not been working out, I just haven’t found an opportune moment to slap the divorce papers in front of her. I had been doing my finances and stumbled across a copy of the same request form in her filing cabinet, so I know she’s thinking along the same wavelengths.” I gave it a moment to sink in, probably more for my own benefit than Eren’s. 

Eren’s expression softened ever so slightly and his voice had calmed down and significantly lowered in volume as he asked, “Why isn’t it working out?”

“Besides the fact that I like dick?” I laughed a dry, somewhat bitter laugh, understanding full well what I’d have to admit to this fucking brat. I’d known him for a day but I still felt comfortable enough disclosing this information to him, which was strangely comforting. He waited tentatively for my response. 

“Anyway, remember when I didn’t… you know?” I cock my head to the side a little bit and drift my eyes south slightly before returning my attention back to him. 

“Cum?” he stated matter-of-fact to which I winced slightly before nodding. 

“Petra really wanted children” I paused, hoping he’d get the hint and fill in the rest of the blanks, (pun not intended). When he just looked at me uncomprehendingly I sighed and silently admitted defeat.

“Didn’t you want any…?” Eren’s face dropped and he trailed off, as he seemed to register why my marriage was breaking apart beneath me. Why I had strayed into his arms rather than hers. What it was I had meant exactly when telling her to find a ‘real man’. 

“I had no idea,” he muttered, as he sipped what smelt like a hot chocolate. I couldn’t quite tell since it was in a takeaway cup.

“The fuck you didn’t.” I realised the harsh tone to my voice before softening slightly and slumping in my chair. “Sorry, it’s just been really frustrating. I feel like I’ve failed her in the only real thing I was meant to provide as a husband. Everything just went stale after so many failed attempts and when we found out I may not ever be able to… well… let’s just say it blew up at that point. We started pushing each other away, sex became a chore, being intimate held no value unless it ended in pregnancy, which it never did.” 

“Levi?” 

“Yeah?”

“I think I can just about understand your reasons for uh… straying, however… I have a question”

“Fire away, at this point I’m prepared to kick my pride in the balls and answer anything.” I tell him, to which he smiles slightly and lets out an uncomfortable laugh. 

“If you really aren’t all that happy in your relationship, why did you hide me in the bathroom?” He had a point. I groaned before taking a sip of my tea, trying to be as slow as humanly possible with swallowing it to avoid what I had to say for as long as I could. I’d had weeks with the same question swirling around through my mind and I’d only managed to come up with one solid reason. I hung my head and watched the tealeaves swirl.

“I’m ashamed.” I admitted honestly, albeit very quietly. 

“Of what, me?” he asked.

“No. Not of you.” I paused for a long, uncomfortable moment. “I’m ashamed that I fucking did this to myself and caused her all these shitty problems. She deserves better than me. I didn’t have the self worth to deal with the issue like a man, and I was selfish enough to marry her in the first place. I used her as a crutch for my unresolved shit and it wasn’t fair on her.” I could feel the self-depreciating thoughts swirling, much like they used to roughly a decade ago. I’m worthless. I’m a piece of shit. Look at the lives you’re screwing up. A familiar voice echoed in my head telling me that my choices have consequences, and asking me where my responsibility was. 

There was a long, tense pause before Eren added, with a hint of pity in his voice at my apparent distress at having to be honest to the bone with him, “Sorry, Levi.” 

“Don’t apologise, Eren. I’m the one who omitted the fact I was… or am, married. You must have felt like shit after that,” I looked up at him to say. 

He didn’t verbally confirm it. He didn’t need to. He just sat there and picked at his fingernails. He sheepishly looked back up at me with a hint of embarrassment flushed across his cheeks. 

“Is she willing to fix it?” Eren asked carefully. I considered it for a moment before shrugging. 

“Its not really what she’s willing to do which is the problem. It’s that I don’t think I’m willing.” I admitted, still on my current open streak, pouring myself some more tea.

“Huh.” He mused aloud. “So uh, about the other night…” he started with a slight smile, clearly seeking to change the subject. 

“Well…” He looked up with those adorable fucking green eyes of his before I continued. “I’d completely understand if you didn’t want to, but I’d like to see you again. I’d regret not at least asking, and I sure as fuck didn’t intend for that night to end up as a one night stand.” 

He frowned softly, fuck; even when he was furrowing his brows he was sexy as hell. He seemed to contemplate over what I’d said, his expression giving nothing away, aside from the nibble of his lower lip. Nervousness maybe?

“Um. Well. You see. I’d like to… but, um” he hesitated as he shifted awkwardly in his seat, but I pretty much knew what he was going to say, or at least what he must have been thinking, so I finished the sentence for him “as long as I file for my divorce?” 

He nodded once, solemnly. “I don’t quite know how I feel about making someone leave their wife for me… I’m not exactly worth-” I cut him right off before he could finish where he was going with that although I think my unintentional harsh tone caught him off guard and he flinched. 

“Look here, you little dicksplash. I’m not leaving her because I’ve been manipulated into it. This ship has been fucking sinking for the last two years.” I pause for a while before continuing, not used to being so forthcoming with how I feel. I wasn’t used to feeling so passionate about wanting something, about wanting someone, it was almost scary, but I continued. “Look, Eren. There’s just something about you that’s completely different. This is going to sound painfully cheesy, but you’re like nothing I’ve experienced before. I’m _weird_ around you.” 

His cheeks flushed a slight pink as I was speaking before he furrowed his brows, looking positively perplexed. “Weird?” 

“Yeah, it’s like I’m not this complete asshole I present to the world, and I can just be myself. I haven’t felt that about anyone in years.” 

“Not even your…?”

“Not to the same extent. Petra and I are like best friends. Don’t get me wrong she’s attractive and I love her something like you would a sister, but that’s all I can see in her. A friend. It was a mistake to think I needed to take it any further, and that’s what ruined it.” 

There was a long pause and Eren sipped slowly from his hot chocolate before I sat up a little, straightening my back out and starting to feel the nervousness creep back in like a weed. 

“So why should I give you another chance?” He asked, his expression unreadable and hidden behind his paper cup of cocoa. I figured I’d appeal to his more light-hearted side that I’d seen at the bar that night. 

“Because… you know how they said that the chances of anything coming from mars were a million to one? Well. We all know how that ended up.” I tell him, a smirk playing at the corners of my lips. Eren let out a muffled laugh, half spitting out his most recent sip of hot chocolate before coughing as he chuckled behind his hand, quickly pulling a napkin over. 

“It’ll probably be a long fucking process and I’m pretty sure it’ll turn me into a miserable old divorcé, but,” I cringe before speaking back up “I’ll do it to have a chance with you, if you’ll have me.” 

Suddenly Eren’s warm hand was cupping my cheek and he leant over the table to place a chaste kiss onto my lips. It was brief and he smelt of chocolate. I didn’t know how much I’d missed those soft lips until this moment. “Sounds like a plan,” he murmured before sitting back and sipping his drink. 

I found myself completely dazed with what felt like relief, still yearning for more once he’d pulled away, and I sighed softly. We sat in the first comfortable silence of the evening for a while as Eren finished his food and I finished my tea. After a short while something occurred to me. 

“Shit,” I mutter. Eren looks up, a mixture of confusion and worry gracing his gorgeous tanned features. “Before I fucking forget,” I straightened a leg to be able to rustle through my front pocket, pulling out a business card and flipping it over. I lean across to my folded coat I’d slipped out of earlier and retrieve a pen and scribble on the back. Eren in the meantime is looking at me as if I’m performing fucking art attack or something. The boy is completely transfixed. I hand him my card and he seems to get the message. On one side we’ve got my name and title, on the reverse is my personal number.

“Like hell am I letting you disappear for another three fucking weeks.”


	6. White Winged Dove

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edge of Seventeen will get you in the mood for this chapter. Just a suggestion. 
> 
> A little bit of smut at the end here, and be warned: the next three chapters are basically fluff. 
> 
> Also I can't be bothered to proof read this any more, so if there are errors, tough. :D 
> 
> That is all, enjoy.

For the next couple of weeks everything went by reasonably smoothly. The weather was rapidly turning hotter as summer set into full swing and I was fucking hating it. My vampiric complexion can barely handle the light from my bedside table, let alone actual UV rays - why else do you think I work in a lower sub-basement? Petra had left for a business trip and decided to stay at her parents for about a week when she got home, so I wouldn’t be seeing her until the upcoming weekend in a few days time. 

Kenny thankfully didn’t try to contact me despite clearly having somehow acquired my phone number and place of work, and Eren and I had spent every other workday having lunch together at the café. He seemed to want to try absolutely everything on the menu, ordering something new and different each day, whereas I stuck to my individual pot of loose leaf, decaf tea and a croissant. 

I learnt that Eren had just graduated from his final year of studies, so he had been getting a bit of work experience before leaving full time education and getting a job, which he’s just landed at SinaPharm. We’ve started sharing the same usual table with the mirror, tea lights and red leather seats, although today Eren had moved his chair next to mine so we can people watch from the corner of the teahouse. 

“That’s one usual for Levi” the waitress said, setting down my usual, “and one cappuccino and grilled chorizo baguette for Eren.” We were in here so bloody often we knew most of the staff by name now. Or at least I did, Eren knew two of them from Uni, the short blonde and freckles. Eren had given me the complete breakdown of how the tall brunette Ymir was completely in love with the smaller, completely oblivious blonde called Krista. I wasn’t really listening to what he was saying in any particular detail; I just enjoyed listening to his voice with that wonderful accent of his. 

“Thanks Krista!” Eren chirped as he took a sip from his drink. She and him had a quick catch up whilst I fished out my phone and checked for any messages. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried that Kenny may decide to get in touch again. I knew exactly what that man was capable of, simply because I knew exactly what I myself am capable of and that bastard taught me everything I know. If anything he’s worse than me, given his experience. I sigh quietly with a mixture of relief and frustration upon finding no new messages, aside from one from Petra asking for a movie night when she gets back.

Kenny is bound to contact me at some point. I just know it. That dickhead isn’t one to respect people’s law-abiding decisions, especially when the ‘people’ in question is me. Praying that he never attempts to worm his way back into my life would be a foolish decision. It turns into a waiting game, to which I can only hope to distract myself from until his next appearance. Speaking of which, Krista has left and Eren is busy turning his baguette into farm mulch before my eyes. As attractive as this boy is, he can really have his disgusting moments. He sure knows how to unintentionally turn me off. I return to my people watching as Eren takes a sip from his cappuccino. 

“Hey brat.” 

“Yeah?” I turn to look back at him and he’s got a foam moustache decorating his top lip. That’s so fucking adorable.

“Got milk?” He blinks a little as he registers what I’ve told him and before he has chance to wipe himself off, and before I have a chance to actually register what I’m doing, I take a napkin and gently wipe his top lip, pausing slightly with it, our eyes meeting for a split second before removing it quickly and composing myself. Since that first time we’d only really initiated small physical gestures toward one another, and about two really awkward hugs. 

I kept him updated with the status of my manning up to speak to Petra and he would just frown at me as if in disappointment whenever I told him I didn’t get a chance, but he wouldn’t push any further than asking when I’d next see her. She’d been away a lot and I work long hours. When she works, I work, when I sleep, she sleeps in another room or at her parents. Our schedules only really overlap long enough to ask each other to put the laundry out or remind one another it’s bin day. 

I did genuinely want to speak to Petra as soon as humanly possible, however general day-to-day bullshit kept getting in the way, annoying me to no end. I vowed I would approach her with our upcoming movie night; Eren keeping completely quiet as I explain it will be a prime opportunity when we’re not just in passing. I started searching for properties also, since I had no desire to take on the townhouse. It was Petra’s home really, I’d moved in with her when I had nowhere else and I wouldn’t choose a building like that for myself if given the chance, or the deposit for that matter. (Both of which I now possess.)

I had maybe four boxes of belongings to my name? I’m fairly minimalistic and I essentially only buy essentials and I don’t own any furniture aside from what Petra and I shared the cost of. If I don’t use it, I don’t keep it. It’s reassuring knowing I won’t have to rent a van or anything when I come to move out from Petra’s house. Maybe two trips in the MG and I’m done. 

“Hey Eren, how about this one?” I show him my phone, which is currently displaying an apartment up for sale. It’s plain, simple yet practical. Not to mention it’s reasonably close to work. Everything I’m looking for. He takes the phone and looks it over, mainly skimming through the photos. 

“I like it.” He says. “I’ve just moved out from our student dorm with Mikasa and the place we’ve got is really nice. Literally nothing needs doing to it, although the landlord is scary as hell.” He explains. 

“I’d love to see it some time.”

“Mm, yeah.” He hesitates, looking uncomfortable. “I’ll have to have you over some time when Mikasa isn’t home.” 

“Oh?” Insert perfect opportunity to pull his leg: here. “Embarrassed of me, are you?” I teased. 

“No! She’s just really unnecessarily over-protective and it literally enrages me. Not even kidding.” He was getting worked up just talking about her. How could you share a living space with someone who infuriates you so much? Family or not. 

“It would actually be much better if no one were home for our first trip to your place. After all, you’ve seen mine, it’s only fair” 

“Well, I suppose-”

I lean closer to him as he sips from his drink, finishing it off. “Besides, I don’t want anyone else at home when you make me _scream_ …” I purr seductively into his ear. 

There goes the last remnant of his cappuccino, all over the table and down his shirt. It sprayed out from his mouth fucking Kill Bill style. If it weren’t such a disgusting mess I’d probably find it funny. I gently lean back into my seat with a smug grin on my face as he attempts to salvage the mess he made, his cheeks burning bright red. 

“Levi!” he yelps, his voice almost cracking. 

“It’s not like you to go all coy on me Eren…” I mused aloud. Having had enough of my little game, I decide it’s about high time I initiate ‘project distraction’. “You have plans tomorrow night by the way.”

“I do? Since when?”

“Since now” 

“What’s tomorrow, Thursday? I’m sure that should be okay. Got something in mind?” 

“Yeah actually. I’ll meet you in the lobby at work around six?” 

“Sure, I finish at half five so that works just fine. Where are we going?”

“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out.” I teased, smirking almost triumphantly.

“Mmh. Fine.” He pouts again but I hold my tongue with regards to his unintentional sweetness. “It’s a date!” he declared excitedly. 

Heh, a date. I couldn’t help but smile. 

\--- 

“No! no no no! This is terrible! Eld, Gunter get the first aid kit quick!” Hange yelled across the lab as her hand was pressed to my forehead. I was completely fine, she was just taking the piss out of the fact I’d started smiling once I realized the day was drawing to a close and the end of my shift was imminent. Naturally Eld and Gunter look up from their microscopes and stations with concerned glints in their eyes but I waft a hand to dismiss their concern, still smiling of course. They seem to settle after that, as Hange continues to badger me, even if they do look equally as confused as Hange. 

“You must be sick, Levi! If you could see yourself you’d be worried. You’re looking borderline healthy!” she exclaims. 

“Hey, I’m probably the healthiest person here.” What with the condition of my diet and my exercise regime. I’m pretty sure Hange’s idea of healthy eating is to eat lettuce. That shit is about as nutritional as cardboard by itself. 

“Well, still.” She rests her hands on her hips, cocking one out to the side. 

“What?” I say with absolutely no venom in my tone. I can’t actually physically bring myself to feel annoyed at her right now, it’s so peculiar. I’m like a little kid who knows he’s about to go on holiday. 

“Come on Levi. Tell mama Hange why you’re in such a good mood. I deserve to know these things!” 

I could tell she was pouting pathetically from beneath her white mask, so I rolled my eyes at her. Do I tell her I’m planning to get a divorce from one of her best friends so I can hook up with a sexy Turkish feller I met and slept with on the first day? She’d find the whole situation hilarious I’m sure, and I don’t exactly want my divorce to be big news around here, so I save it for another day.

“I have another date, tonight actually.” 

Hange screamed with excitement into my face and we both flinch as we hear glass breaking on the other side of the lab, turning to look at a very startled Moblit looking annoyed he’d dropped an empty beaker from his tray. The poor guy looks as if he’d just had a heart attack. Hange and I simply snicker between ourselves as he scurries to find the dustpan and brush. 

“Psst. Hange.” I whisper as I nudge her with my elbow as she moves to stand next to me whilst we watch Moblit cleaning the glass up. “Hey. Hey Moblit!” I call over. He looks up.

“Bea-ker-ful over there!” I tell him with perhaps a smidge too much amusement lacing my voice as I tried to keep a completely straight face before Hange and I crack up into a fit of giggles, high-fiving one another like the fucking retards we are. 

\--- 

By the time six rolled round the next day I was grinning ear to ear like a kid on Christmas. I have no fucking clue how this brat manages to make me feel like this but it's not unpleasant. Different, yes, scary, definitely, but far from unwanted. I do my best to not seem so excited on the outside, as I’m still sort of having to tread carefully where Eren is concerned. Especially until I talk to Petra. He’s been quite patient about the whole thing so far, so I see no reason not to take him out. 

I walk Eren out to the car and get him to help me adjust the soft top (I have to do it manually, gotta love them old cars) until the roof is down and secured. It's a great midsummer evening so I may as well make the most of the warmth before it gets colder than a witch’s tit. The nearby hills are great for driving in the summer, since the mountains act as a bit of a breeze funnel, allowing the air through so you can’t feel the heat so badly.

We’re in, we’re buckled up and I lean over to pull open the glove box in front of Eren and he laughs softly. 

“You are such an old man, Levi. These things must be older than me!” he holds out a cassette from the glove box. It’s the only sound system I have in my car and I thought a modern CD player would spoil the nostalgic aura she emits so well. 

“Just shut up and pick one,” I snap with no spite in my voice as Eren proceeds to shuffle through the cassettes. 

“Do you have _anything_ that isn’t from before I was born?” 

“No” 

“Oh wait! I got _just_ the one!” 

He slips it into the player (on the wrong side at first) and finds the track he’s looking for. As soon as I hear it start I smile to myself. He’s picked out _Bella Donna_. 

“I love Stevie,” he said quietly. Add another reason to the slowly growing list of why I’m slowly but surly falling in love with this guy. 

I pull out after Eren asks where we're going and I refuse to tell him. He sits quietly and simply places his hand on top of mine as I hold the gearstick. It's nice just driving slowly out of the city along the bending mountain roads, Eren's warm hand on top of mine, stroking it gently with his thumb. Whenever I don’t need to shift for a while I’ll turn my hand over and intertwine our fingers. The trees around us are all full and green, and the sun is starting to set, giving everything a slightly yellow tinge, illuminating the colours of the landscape. 

Before long, we’re both belting out the words to _Edge of Seventeen_ while I put my foot down through a long stretch of coniferous woodland. Eren turns to me and sings out a line, to which I return with an equally as cheesy next line along. 

Eren links his hand back into mine and I continue to hum the rest whereas Eren tones his volume down a little, revealing his surprisingly good singing voice. 

“This is nice,” he said quietly a few moments a few songs later, looking out the rolled down windows with his messy brown hair flapping in the warm evening wind. 

I drove us up through the side of the valley and if my timing was right I’d be able to get us to the right location just in time. The area just outside this part of the city was heavily wooded and fairly hilly, being a valley and all. Eren leant his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes, smiling. Why is he so fucking perfect? Remind me again, universe? 

The sound of rubber hitting dirt and the feel of the car slowing forced him to lean up and open his eyes, untangling our hands so I could stop and shift into park. The look on his face was priceless as his jaw simply dropped as he took in the sights. I was parked facing a large empty patch between the trees, sloping downwards towards the city that was neatly nestled into the valley’s heart. 

The small opening was secluded enough due to the surrounding trees but at the same time because of the meadow on the side of the hill you got a perfect view of the flatter land down by the buildings. Top that off with the bright red sun setting just above the cityscape. I’d been here plenty of times before to escape the stresses of teenage life, but the view never ceased to strike awe into me. 

“Wow, Levi. It’s beautiful” I couldn’t take my eyes off him. 

He turned to me and leant over, giving me a surprising, quick kiss before grinning stupidly and hopping out of the car. “C’mon grumpy, lets lay on the hill and watch the sunset!” he called over his shoulder. 

I slowly removed myself from the car, popping the small trunk open and fishing out a blanket. I may or may not have pre-empted this, so I wanted to be prepared. I pulled out a little something else too and slipped them into my back pocket. I sauntered over to where he was evaluating the condition of the soil and threw the blanket out, laying it flat. He helped a little with the corners and before long we were lying next to one another, his arm around my shoulder and I rested my head against his chest. 

I leaned up somewhat to look at his face. My eyes flicked between his green eyes and his perfect soft lips, glowing slightly from the redness of the setting sun. He caught my staring and leant down, capturing my lips with his own. The kiss wasn’t anything like our first sloppy attempt. It was slow and considerate. It was as if we had all the time in the world to explore one another, so we relished in the moment. I twisted around so I was lying on my front, half on top of his chest, lips still sealed with Eren’s. We broke free for a moment to breathe and I smiled lazily at him, resting my head back down on his chest as he stroked my hair. 

I could have lay here all night, enjoying his intense warmth against me and enjoying the soothing touch of his hands stroking my hair and neck. He was like a fucking furnace. Soon enough, his hand drifted south to the small of my back and I closed my eyes. What was even better was imagining the look on his face when his hand trailed to my behind, finding a noticeable bulge in the back pocket. He shifted a little beneath me and I turned up to look at him. 

“Wanna know what’s in there?” I teased. 

“Uh?” he tentatively dipped his fingers beneath the pocket’s hem and grinned devilishly at what he found. “You sly bastard. Bringing me up here on some so called romantic date” he giggled. 

“I’ll use any excuse to get you back in my pants” I retorted shamelessly. “Romance at it’s best.” 

He rolled his eyes as I sat up, pulling a leg over him and taking the small bottle of lube and condom from his hands and holding his wrists above his head. I leant dangerously close to his face and I could feel that his breathing had quickened and his pupils were slightly dilated. The growing tent in the front of his jeans looked a little painful. I was feeling in a generous mood. Perhaps I’d offer to help him with that. 

“That wasn’t an open invitation, it was an order, dumbass.” 

“I- Uh... Oh!” He was actually blushing. Fuck that’s sexy when he gets all flustered. Maybe I should surprise him with sexual advances more often. I’ll tuck that one away for future mental reference. 

He got the hint and rolled us over, switching our positions and pinning me to the blanket. It wasn’t exactly comfortable with the hard dirt beneath my bony ass back, but I hid it well. Before I knew it my lips were being assaulted. Rather than his usual lick of permission, he nips and bites at my lip and I couldn’t help but gasp. As soon as I do his tongue darts inside my mouth, taking full control. I on the other hand turn to putty beneath him, letting him do as he pleased. 

“Fuck it’s hot when you do that” I managed to squeeze out between kisses. He moved down to my neck and collarbones, kissing and gently nipping as he went. I rolled my hips up against his growing erection and he let out a pleasured moan. He moved my wrists together to hold them with one hand with ease, since they are quite slim, and he moved his free hand down to palm at the front of my trousers. 

“Unnh, Eren” I whined pretty lewdly, even for my standards. It had been a while so I was more than a little bit pent up. I shuffled a little uncomfortably and as if reading my mind he sat straight back and ordered me to get up. When did he get so fucking bossy? I love it. 

“Over there” he pointed to the car, so I took a few small steps back and placed my ass on the bonnet, my trousers now fully and very uncomfortably tented. He quickly closed the distance and was all over me again, rolling his body against my own as I leant back down against the top of the car. It was still warm from the drive, which was nice. Our kisses quickly turned heated and passionate, rapidly losing co-ordination.

With desperate fingers he began unbuckling my belt and I helped by lifting my hips up so he could slide my pants and boxers down, releasing my now painfully hard cock to the cool forest breeze. 

“Fuck, Eren! hnn” I was interrupted as he bent down to kiss and suck at my hip bones, his hand taking hold of the base of my cock and giving it a gentle tug. I threw my head back at the sensation and shuddered beneath his perfectly tanned body, which by now I was determined to have my hands on. He kept stroking me as I leant up to practically tear his shirt off over his head. I had somewhere decided that I was in a state of arousal that could only be cured by having my hands all over his well-defined chest. I ducked my head down to suck at his left nipple and he let out a satisfying, low groan. I flicked and nipped at the hardening pink bud before starting on the other one, all the while raking my hands all over those glorious sides, arms and finally his back. 

He moved his hand from my cock and fished out the lube, briskly coating himself with it and lining a finger up to my entrance. Where the fuck the sudden sense of urgency came from I have no clue. Not complaining, though. 

“Nnnh, Hah, Eh-Ere-” Fuck he’d practically fucking committed the location of my prostate to memory. I’m so relieved that thing still allows me pleasure, else I’d be fucked. Well. I’m pretty sure at this current moment in time I’d still be fucked, but in a completely different way. He knew I was an impatient little shit when it came to preparing, so he purposefully took his dear sweet fucking time.

“Eren, faster” I mewled as he wrapped his other hand back around my neglected cock, giving it equally slow strokes. The multiple sources of stimulation were starting to make me see stars. Petra, nice try but I’m officially gay. Not that I wasn’t at least bisexual before, but hey. I’m converted. 

“Eren- I’m cl… Eren!” He seemed to get the hint and he leaned down to me, removing his fingers and kissing me so tenderly it almost hurt. 

“You only get to come when I say you can.” He stated as he firmly took hold of me to flip me over. Woah cowboy, this shit just got interesting. 

“You know I can’t fucking do that” I said with no real venom in the words. He seemed to understand I wasn’t upset and pressed his clothed erection against my now fully displayed ass cheeks. 

“You know what I mean. Now did you want me to fuck your pretty little ass or not?” he demanded, grinding his hips in little circles. 

“Nng, yes!” 

“Yes what, Levi?”

“Yes… please, Eren!” I’ll beg him to do anything right about now as I’m so painfully aroused. My cheeks feel hot against the cooling metal of the car bonnet and I feel the wind whipping across my bare ass, giving me a slight cold feeling where the lube was. The strange sensation sent shivers up my spine in anticipation. 

He let out a satisfied sigh as he stood up straight to unzip his own jeans. I watched just over my shoulder as that beautiful specimen of a male reproductive organ sprung into view. I licked my lips subconsciously and turned my head to the side against the bonnet once more, tilting my hips ever so slightly in presentation for him to claim should he wish. 

“Now what do you say, Levi?” he rubbed a free hand over the small of my back and took a firm hold of my hip making me cry out in pleasure whilst he finished sliding his condom on and rubbing lubricant all over that delicious- 

“Fuck me Eren. I need it... please Eren. Fuck me!” I’d lost all sense of dignity. I needed his cock in my ass and I needed it now. That and the idea of christening my MG in a new way felt pretty novel.  
Something to tick off my bucket list. Speaking of buckets I’d need to clean her ASAP after this. 

“Such a good boy” Eren said as he stroked his firm tip against my awaiting hole. “ I suppose since you asked so nicely I’ll have to reward you.” Fucking just put it in already! 

Eren moaned loudly and I let out a cry once he’d pushed past the first ring of tight muscle, ignoring his usual gentle approach and pushing to bottom out straight away. 

“Fuck Eren, tell me when you’re gonna pull that shit!” I gasped, seeing white spots whenever I blinked, hands flailing at the surface of the car to find anything to grasp hold of. I felt my legs shudder and my knees turn weak at the hot feeling building in my stomach. 

“That’d spoil the fun” he grinned, pulling my arms together behind my back and keeping hold of my wrists, splaying me across my chest on top of the bonnet. He started shifting back and forth shortly after, his pace getting quicker and stronger. Various adaptations of his name mixed with curse words were moaned out into the cooling night air as he fucked me against my own car without abandon. His thrusts grew more forceful and the only sounds in the air were pants, grunts and heavy breathing. 

I spread my legs a little more as he pounded into me and angled my hips just enough so that he’d graze my prostate upon each powerful thrust. Not once did it occur to me that we were out in the fucking open, going at it like rabbits for all to see. It was late on a weekday evening. Who would be out here anyway? No one. We were far enough from the main road as it was, not that I’d care if I was seen at this point in time. 

Eren’s thrusts started to get slightly more uneven and I could tell he was getting closer to his peak. He wrapped a hand around my waist and gave me a few strokes as he hammered into me, spending his final energy reserves and bringing us both over the edge. He slowed somewhat, letting the both of us ride out our orgasms. Mine was somewhat cleaner than his, but I’m pleased he wore a condom, as I didn’t have anything to properly clean cum off my thighs with. Lube I could handle, but bodily fluids, no thanks. 

He held the condom edges and pulled out, pulled off and tied up before flopping down onto his side beside me. With shaky arms I pushed myself up and tilted onto my side too. Locking eyes, we just stared at one another in post-coital bliss before he spoke up. 

“Yeah, this position is really uncomfortable” 

He wasn’t wrong, we were sort of balancing on one foot, lying on our sides on a slanted bonnet of a short car. Not to mention probably denting the fucking thing with our weight. He chuckled softly and helped me up to begin our brief clean-up operation. Thankfully I had a few wet wipes in the car. 

Once we’d cleaned up enough to be comfortable, we sat back against the bonnet of the car. I rolled my sleeves up and Eren leant against my shoulder as we watched the last of the sun’s warmth disappear below the city, taking all of the sky’s beautiful colours with it. He ran his hand up my arm and his gentle touches stilled at the crook of my arm. He sat upright and took a closer look in the dimming light. 

“What’s this scar from?” it was an innocent enough question, but it still made me frown. 

I knew I’d have to eventually tell Eren about my slightly drug fuelled past, but I wasn’t in the mood for ruining the moment. Tonight had already been too amazing for me to want to delve back into that dark shit. 

“It’s just from me being an idiot teenager.” I stated with a tone of finality and going to pull away to get back in the car. He caught my arm and caught my hematite eyes with his own green tourmaline. His expression softened when he looked at my arm again and he glanced back up to me. 

“You don’t have to tell me now. Another time, yeah?” 

I fucking loved this guy sometimes. “Yeah, sounds like a plan” I said. 

We both sat back into the car, by now the sun had fully set leaving nothing but a dark blue sky fading into blackness as I drove us back into the lights of the city.


	7. Will You Ever Win?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi gets down and dirty. Sort of.
> 
> Cheeky little Erwin POV. 
> 
> That's all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that? Two updates in one go? 
> 
> Yus!

**New Message**  
From **Petra** :  
_Still game for that movie tonight?_

To **Petra** :  
_Sure, be home in about an hour._

Upon arriving home, I rustled out of my jacket and placed my keys into the small bowl by the front door and toed my shoes off as I dropped my bag. As I was slipping my second shoe off, Petra emerged from the living room with her fluffy housecoat on and her purple slippers, cradling a cup of tea. 

“Made you some tea, I’ve got a couple movies picked out, come on in” she smiled somewhat, turning back into the darkened room. 

I responded with a noncommittal grunt, following her in as I undid the top couple of buttons of my shirt. We both sat down on the sofa and I carefully took my cup of tea from her with a nod of thanks. Despite our disagreements she still knows me better than anyone. Even Eren. I couldn’t have been blessed with a better best friend. Petra held a few movies out and I pointed to ‘Dracula’, not because I particularly wanted to watch it, but I knew she enjoyed it so I would at least show my thanks for the tea somehow. It was my favourite after all. 

Petra simply shuffled over to the DVD player, waited quietly for the disc tray to open and popped the disc in gently, tapping the close button and watching it disappear. She seemed quieter than usual, which was weird for her. Usually she was pretty perky at this time of day. 

“Rough day?” I ask her. She shrugs a little as she returns to the sofa, picking the remote up and skipping to the main menu. 

“It was okay…” she says, waiting for the disc to load so she can press play.

I hum and turn my attention back to the television and my cup of tea. We both sit quietly watching the movie and I slowly sip my tea throughout before quietly setting my mug down. I push myself up slightly and Petra turns to look at me in confusion. I whisper “I need to piss” and remove myself from the strange feeling in the room. 

Once in the bathroom, I take a moment to splash my face with a little cold water after washing my hands. I’ll just go out there and ask for a divorce. That’s right. After a long moment of mentally preparing myself, I quietly step back into the lounge, where Petra is staring at her lap, seemingly caught up over something.

“You sure there’s nothing wrong?” I ask.

“Yeah, fine. Oh, I love this bit!” she squeaks, almost a bit too enthusiastically and I keep my lips sealed, returning to watch the rest of the movie, saving my request for the end. I’ve seen this movie a few times now so come the end I’m half asleep, chin resting against my chest, my breathing slow and even.

“Levi?” I could hear her voice and a hand gently nudging my shoulder to rouse me from my little nap. Shit yeah, that’s right. I need to tell her. 

I hummed sleepily, looking up at her from my comfortable position. 

“Let’s get a divorce.”

That woke me up. Not that it was a particular surprise, and I could feel the relief surging through my chest, but at the same time there was also something else there I couldn’t quite place. I had planned this moment out as me being the person to ask her. It threw me off slightly as I wasn’t expecting her to fucking read my mind. I didn’t know what to say, so she continued as I straightened up in my seat. 

“I don’t feel like this is something you want, Levi.” I went to open my mouth to try and spare her feelings, but she was a step ahead of me “…and I don’t want you to blame yourself. I’ve been feeling it too, and I know we’re not looking at each other in the same way anymore.” She took my silence as a prompt to continue. 

“What I mean to say is I don’t feel that we really ever loved each other like married couples ought. I don’t mean this in a bad way, I do love you… but not…” She frowned and sighed in mild (if somewhat well disguised) frustration. She gently tucked some hair behind her ear and looked at me.

“What do you think?” she finally asked, looking at me with concerned amber eyes and a serious expression.

“Yeah. You’re right.” I mumbled. This is what I wanted, wasn’t it? Then why did it feel like I was losing her as a friend too? Divorced people can still be friends, just without having to share a bed or a house or bodily fluids. That’s what I told myself at least. “I do love you but… I can’t place it. It’s like it wasn’t…” she finished my sentence for me “meant to be?” 

“As fucking cheesy as it sounds…” I commented, to which she simply laughed. “Yeah” I agreed in the end.

“Do they make you happy?” she questioned, seemingly out of the blue. What a random question- Wait. 

“Does who make me happy?” 

“Whoever it is you’ve been seeing. Do they make you happy?” I was somewhat shocked, and it would seem the look spread from my brain to my face in record timing. Did she read my slightly slutty text exchanges with Eren, or?

“I’ve observed the way you’ve been acting lately, and I spotted it the other day. That smile you used to give me when we first got married, that one you reserve only for the one who…” She leant down to deliberately try to capture my eyes, which I’d been trying to deliberately divert elsewhere.

“Who I love.” I murmured faintly. 

Petra’s shoulders relaxed a little and she leant in to give me a warm hug. I was at a loss as to how the fuck she figured it out. Did I really have it for that green-eyed brat so bad it was noticeable? It would eat away at me otherwise, I had to ask. 

“How did you?” 

“Know?”

“Yeah” I mumbled, ashamed that I wasn’t denying my own adultery. I never was a good liar. 

“That day I got home from the conference. You were getting dressed and your neck was uh…” 

She pointed to my neck and I must have flushed bright red as I buried my head into my hands. Oh shit, I was shirtless that morning during our little spat. She’d have seen the marks all over my chest and hips and- _fuck_! I might just crawl into a hole and die. Order the casket now, Petra.

“How are you not angry?” I ask her. She shrugs. She fucking shrugs, like it’s nothing.

“You’ll always be my best friend, Levi. Married or not I never could stay mad at you for long.” 

“Yeah but I fucking cheated on you.” I retort, flummoxed. 

“This is true,” she said quietly. “I should probably tell you this now...” _Eh?_ She looked so uncomfortable for a moment before finally spewing the news. “I met someone too.” 

Wait. So we both? “You too!?” My eyebrows are sky high. 

She blushes and shrugs sheepishly, an apologetic glint in her golden eyes. 

“Wow.” I breathe out. “So, has he got a big di-”

Petra squeals in embarrassment and I could tell my best friend was back in the room. She pulled my hands away from my face and we looked at one another for a moment before simply smiling. The tension that had built during the entirety of our relationship was simultaneously dissolving between us in an instant. The worst was over, so to speak, and we were both feeling relieved. Or at least I was. 

“Heh, I’d actually planned to ask for a divorce tonight. You beat me to it.” I said as I rubbed my neck awkwardly, unsure how she’d react. She held a firm expression, seeming to mull it over, before giving me a playful shove and telling me how “ya’ snooze ya’ lose”. 

We started laughing and I pulled her into a warm embrace. We sat there for what felt like ages and eventually I could feel her shoulders shaking slightly and pushed her back to get a look at her now teary eyes. 

“That’s it, then?” she said with a sniffle, “We’re still gonna be friends?” 

“You’re my best friend, Petra. It’ll take a hell of a lot more than this to get rid of me.” She smiled at that. 

“So Levi, who’s this new... what, gal’ guy?” She knew me well enough to know I swung both ways, so I grinned a little and answered her question. 

“It’s a guy.” 

“Aw, so no ladies nights?” she pouted, it was fucking adorable.

“I’m pretty sure he’d love to have his hair done and watch Dirty Dancing, but I think he’s more of a sci-fi fan.” 

“Oh, so a massive nerd like you. Next you’ll be telling me he’s got an obscene adoration for Fleetwood Mac like you!” she giggled, to which I kept my face completely straight, trying my damn best not to laugh.

“ _No._ He doesn’t! No freaking way, Levi!” she gasped in astonishment, grinning ear to ear. 

“Yeah, his mum used to listen to a lot of Stevie, he grew up with her.” 

“Hey Levi, you want another cuppa?” she playfully plucked the teacups from the coffee table and started over towards the kitchen. 

“Yeah, actually. I will” 

That went way better than I’d thought it would in my mind. It just goes to prove you can’t read someone’s mind and be able to tell how he or she will react to something if you assume and think up millions of scenarios in your head. 

Turns out the best way of finding out how someone will react is to confront them about it, reaffirming why I don’t generally choose to beat around bushes. (Pun not intended, since this particular one isn’t mine any more! Ha) 

Damn I love this woman. 

One more cup of tea and another movie and we’re ready to rock (to sleep like the little old people we are).

Divorce? Bring it on. 

\--- 

The next morning we filled out the divorce paperwork which we’d both conveniently had to hand, and both sat down for about six fucking hours sorting out how we’d split things. With my severe lack of belongings it didn’t take long. We’d been pretty methodical when signing up for this shit so it was an easy split since we didn’t have much shared really. Only a few pieces of furniture, which I gladly forfeited alongside my place in the house. It was an ugly little townhouse full of beautifully unique quirks and alcoves. All old wood and riddled with problems. She was welcomed to it, and with my wages I wasn’t fussed about the money I’d invested in fixing the place up. 

We sat in front of the papers, which were neatly stacked in front of us and looked at each other. 

“They make it sound so terrible on the paperwork, don’t they?” I laugh.

“Yeah, like we’re never going to see each other ever again.” 

“Pfft. As if.” 

“You ready?” She asked. I nodded in response as I handed her the pen.

“Ladies first”

She scribbled down an elegant signature in all the correct places, and she handed me the pen for me to do the same. The sheets went into envelopes and were stamped. 

“I’ll take these to the post office tomorrow morning.” She proudly announced.

It was almost a force of habit to peck her on the lips when we were celebrating things so I had to catch myself before I did, pulling her in for a slightly awkward hug. It quickly passed and we found ourselves just stood in the kitchen holding each other, as if for the last time. 

I pulled away with a serious look on my face. “Petra, this guy you met better not be a fucking asshole.” I stated firmly to which she just laughed and nodded, a small peppering of pink dusting her cheeks in an adorable little blush. I haven’t seen that blush in years; this guy must really be something. 

Hopefully not an asshole, else I’ll have to slap some bitches. 

\--- 

A painfully slow week passes and I wait for confirmation of our divorce going ahead. It arrives in the post on my day off and I’m straight on my phone, tapping out a text. 

To: **Eren**  
_Hey sexy, you working today? x_

From: **Eren**  
_No, y? xx_

To: **Eren**  
_Mind if I come over today? Got a surprise for you. X_

From: **Eren**  
_Is it a cheeky handy? ;) xx_

To: **Eren**  
_Answer the damn question, brat_

I’m absolutely itching to tell him, and a long few moments pass before I get any sort of response. What the hell is taking him so long? Who knows? Maybe he’s taking a shit. 

From: **Eren**  
_Yea thats fine. Sis is home today too tho, so you’d have to meet her. :( xx_

To: **Eren**  
_That’s fine. Text me your address and I’ll drive over in a bit. X_

Eren texts me his address and a few moments later I get a follow up text saying, “ _don’t try to use impress shes immune to charm attacks_ ” and I smirk to myself. I wasn’t planning on it, but I did plan on treating today like any other I’d spend with Eren, so I don’t bother getting dressed, choosing rather to stay in my sweats and a slightly tight jumper. 

Petra’s going out shopping so I tell her I’m going to go tell Eren. She smiles and nods at me, telling me to say hello for her, and that she’d really love to meet him sometime. I know Eren and Petra would get along wonderfully, so I can’t wait for the day that happens. 

This whole week had been painfully slow, but otherwise things at home were amazing. Without the looming tension of being stuck with one another when we didn’t really want to be, Petra and I were like a pair of teenagers again, making inappropriate jokes and laughing at each other when one of us said “but”. I’d given her the brief run-down of Eren and she’d given me the same for her new boyfriend, Oluo I think his name was. She’d told me he worked in ‘silver service’. Whatever the fuck that is. Fine dining I think. 

All previous excitement aside and fast-forward a couple of hours and I’m stood outside Eren’s apartment, a dozen red roses behind my back. I ring the doorbell and an angry, looking Asian girl answers the door. 

My eyes widen in instant recognition and I bark out an uncharacteristic laugh, muttering “No fucking way!” as the door is briskly slammed in my face. This just gets better and better. 

I glance down the hall in each direction as I hear a whole tornado of yelling between a male and female voice and can only assume its Eren, since he yells at her over his shoulder as he opens the door again, the force of which wafts his hair away from his face. He looks fucking angry. I however, am amused as fuck. Who’d have guessed that Eren’s adopted, ridiculously over-protective; impossible to impress sister was my MMA instructor at the gym? Small fucking world. Like, holy fucking shit. 

I pull the roses out from behind my back and crack my usual stony façade to greet him with a genuine smile. He grins and pulls me up against him, gently pressing his lips against mine. “Hey babe, are those for me?”

I nod and he lets me go to whisk up the flowers with a girly little spin, giving them a long sniff and looking all doughy eyed as if I’d just saved a diseased puppy from certain death. That’s a certified eye-sparkle right there. I’d probably catch some horrifying, skin melting disease from the toxic levels of adorable if it were anyone other than Eren. He somehow made it strangely endearing the way he showed his appreciation over the little things I’d do for him. 

“Who else do I know in this building who I’d bring roses to, dipshit?” I say as I flick his nose and let myself into his apartment. He doesn’t protest, following me into the kitchen at the end of the entry hall to fish out a vase from one of the top shelves above the sink. 

“So this is the midget you’re making a cuckold of?” Mikasa snapped from the living room, which was adjacent to the kitchen through an archway. Eren looked a little crestfallen before barking back with a very snarky “He _wants_ to be with me, thank you very much. And since when did it become any of your damn fucking business?!” This argumentative side of Eren was something I’d not been privy to seeing yet. I knew he was stubborn, but seeing him with his sister seemed to bring out the worst (or _arguably_ best, pun intended) in him. 

“What about his fucking _wife_ Eren? Did you ever stop to consider her feelings?” Mikasa quipped back, raising her voice. “I can’t believe you would knowingly ruin a family, Eren. Does he have kids? Did you even ask that before sleeping with the guy? And also, do you know their situation with housing? How do you know she won’t find you out and kick him out, forcing him to sleep on the streets or something?” she was seriously pissed off. 

Just before Eren sees any sense in what she’s quite sensibly, if loudly asking, I clear my throat loud enough for the two bickering siblings to shut the fuck up. Just loud enough to remind them I am actually in the same room as this conversation, which just happens to be related to matters only I can confirm the true details of. 

“As a matter of fact,” I start, “I came by to let you,” looking pointedly at Eren to emphasise I wasn’t here to indulge this information to his sister, “know that we’ve signed the paperwork and the divorce is being processed. The process usually takes four months but since we’re parting on such mutual terms they said it should be more like three.” I made sure to accentuate the fact that Eren was most certainly not taking advantage of me, and I was most certainly not being unfaithful (cough, again). We essentially had Petra’s blessing.

Mikasa was sizing me up, as she looked me up and down. I hadn’t made any particular effort with my appearance today; practically leaving the house in my pyjamas I was so excited to tell him. Mikasa seemingly came to her executive decision and proceeded to deny my existence and turned to Eren as she left the room. “I don’t like him” she snorted through gritted teeth. 

Upon her departure, it occurred to me that this was the first time I had been to Eren and Mikasa’s apartment. It was painted all neutral colours and the furniture seemed to match with tones of light brown leathers and a touch of dark wood. There was no real personality in it, but at least it was reasonably clean. There were boxes everywhere which matched what Eren had told me on lunch once that he’d only just moved in, out from student accommodation. 

“Nice view, isn’t it?” Eren asked me from the kitchen as I stood in the lounge, looking out the window at the view of the side of the next building over. If you leant close enough to the glass and looked right you’d get a great view of the valley, but that’s only if you could live with having lots of half-face-prints on your glass. I laughed a little bit and turned to smile at him. “At least you still get a good amount of light through here. Gonna give me the grand tour then?” 

“Great idea!” he chirped. “Just let me finish these roses and I’ll take them into my bedroom” he smiled at me with those gorgeous pearly white teeth of his. 

As he finished cutting the ends from the stems, he asked quietly “so do you two like, know each other?”

“Yeah, she teaches at my gym.” 

“No way, small world.” 

“Tell me about it. She’s hated me since I handed her ass to her one time.” 

Eren laughed and stacked the flowers into the vase of water, gently lifting them so they were all reasonably evenly distributed. He picked the whole thing up and flashed a grin at me. “That’s hilarious. She hates losing” 

“Yeah I could tell. She’s glared daggers at me ever since. I pretty much sign up for her classes just to piss her off now.” 

“Oh oh! So _you’re_ the asshole midget she keeps venting about after work? This is too good.” 

Eren chortled a beautiful hearty noise and I ran my hand through my hair, looking around at all of his nondescript, most likely Ikea crockery. 

He showed me through the small, two-bed apartment and it was a pretty simple layout. Lounge, kitchen, storage closet at the end of the hall which led to two bedrooms, one with a family bathroom next door (which apparently was Mikasa’s) and Eren had the master with the en-suite. That would probably come in useful one day. Like hell was I going to stroll around naked for Mikasa to potentially see me from down the hall as I snuck into the bathroom. Not that I was planning on christening Eren’s new bed or anything. Not while Mikasa was home at least. 

“All the furniture is the landlord’s... Mikasa and I didn’t have any so figured it would be cheaper to rent somewhere furnished” he explained as he led me into the last room, his. Looks like we’d be christening the landlord’s bed. 

It followed the same layout as the rest of the flat, being painted a neutral stone colour with a plain double wooden bed stood in the centre. The giant nerd had a huge Star Wars duvet cover, not that it was necessarily bad; it was just the only thing in the room with any colour, so therefore stuck out like a sore thumb. There were a few boxes in the corner and a small pile of unfolded clothes by the end of the bed on the floor. Were they clean? Did I really want to know? Probably not. 

I turned to quietly close the door and Eren had followed after setting the roses onto his bedside table, to wrap his arms around my waist, trailing them up and down my lower back affectionately. “So you’re all mine now then?” he hummed. 

“In four months, if you can hang on that long.” I teased. He pouted at me and I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck, playing with his hair that covered the nape of his neck, which made him visibly shudder. Eren’s hair had been getting a tad long lately. Another thing I wouldn’t ever complain about. It gave me a little extra to hold onto, if you know what I mean. Insert cheesy wink here. Eren interrupts my inner dialogue with a cheeky “Well what if I don’t want to wait that long? What then?” and he grinned mischievously. 

I tilted my head a little and kissed him on the cheek and along his jaw up to his ear, whispering into his ear “then we’d have to christen your new bed.” 

His breath caught in his throat momentarily and just as he leaned in to kiss me we both instantly startled and went rigid in each other’s arms, as there was a loud yell from behind the door. 

“No sex while I’m still here!” Mikasa hollered into the back of the closed door “that’s just fucking gross!” 

Eren flushed bright red and then furrowed his brows, yelling back “piss off Mikasa, we’re not fucking!” and then he muttered close to my face “yet” as he resumed that kiss he was about to give me. 

Once we broke apart, we both just grinned at each other and started laughing. 

\--- 

We’re lying on his sofa later that day after a lazy morning with brunch and I’m casually playing with Eren’s hair as he lies on my lap. “Hey Eren?” he looks up at me with slightly tired eyes. Seems the attention being paid to his hair is soothing him to sleep. I know the feeling. “Petra says hello, and if it’s okay with you, I’d like you to meet her soon.” 

He seemed to mull it over for a moment without moving anything except for his eyes, until he returns his gaze up to me with a smile. “That’d be really nice. She’s like your best friend, right?” he asks.

“Yeah, she’s helped me through hell, which I’ll always love her for.” Eren hummed and smiled lazily. I love how he doesn’t seem to be affected by any jealously towards my soon to be ex-wife. It’s a rare trait to find and it’s refreshing. 

“How did she take the news?” he asks. 

“Well actually she propositioned me, beat me to it.”

“Well you did take your dear sweet time” he chuckles, to which I gave him a hum and continued stroking his hair. 

Mikasa walked in quietly a short while later after Eren had got up for a shower and sat down in the armchair beside the sofa I was still sat on, looking at me with a stern look in her eyes. I looked up to meet her severe glare with one of my own. 

“You’d better not hurt Eren.” She straight up cautions me. 

“I won’t,” I say in response. 

“Well I can’t believe it until I see it. I’m sure you can understand.” She explained. I figured she had a pretty good reason to be upset, given that her brother was potentially dating someone with a possible track record of infidelity. She wasn’t wrong, by all technicalities. Even if Petra and I were currently separating, I was still technically married when I’d first slept with him, so yeah, I suppose that makes me a cheat. 

“I understand.”

Mikasa’s expression turns dark and she glares up at me from behind a blanket of her pitch-black hair. “He seems to really care about you, so don’t fuck with him. If you so much as break a hair on his head, I’ll personally remove your spine for you.” 

“Hey you two!” Eren chimed in as he walked back into the room with a towel around his head. We both looked up at him with perked eyebrows, curious to hear this bright idea.

“Why don’t we all go out, I’ll invite the others and we can get to know Levi a little better, and he can get to know you, Mikasa” Eren suggested. It wasn’t a horrendously terrible idea, so I shrugged and nodded. It was clear he was trying to introduce me to his friends. If it meant a little less hostility from someone important to Eren, like his sister, I’d do anything, or in this case hang out with as many snotty teenagers as necessary. 

“Well, Eren. I’d actually invited Sasha and the girls over tonight, but I didn’t know you’d have company, we could just invite everyone and have a drinks night?” she suggested. I was starting to like this chick. If I was going to be drinking, I’d rather do it somewhere with a bed nearby where I could crash. 

“We’ve got work tomorrow” Eren reminded her on my behalf. He was remarkably mature for his age. I on the other hand had completely, if not a little conveniently forgotten. 

“You don’t have to go crazy with the booze. I’m not talking a full on house party or anything” 

We both nodded. It was agreed, the mass texts were sent, and soon enough the guests were arriving at around six. Mikasa had picked out a bunch of movies to watch, consisting mainly of Tarantino flicks, but I didn’t mind. I quite liked those sorts of movies anyway. 

Once everyone had arrived, I recognised most of them, even if only by names I’d heard in passing. I was introduced to Ymir and Krista, although we already knew one another from the teashop, there was a couple, Connie and Sasha who arrived with armfuls of snack foods. Particularly potato chips, which Sasha proceeded to hoard to herself, like a dragon on its pile of gold at the far end of the sofa. She’d even growl at people if they tried to get close to the goods. I was introduced to Jean, who I vaguely recall relating to a horse in the elevator at work that one time. I was also informed that horse face was Eren’s ex, which surprised me. I thought Eren had taste. Ha. Then there was Armin, who Eren instantly went over to upon his arrival and scooped into one of his huge bear hugs. The blonde best friend and alleged genius. 

Although he wasn’t one of their Uni-friends, a young man named Marco accompanied the horse face. Apparently they’d met working at Sina and bonded over how they grew up in the same district of the city. They started dating a few months back, or so Connie informs me. Marco explained to me that he worked in company travel and Jean was in sales. I mentally high-fived myself for being right the first time around. 

Eren ushered everyone into the living room and got them to all sit down and get comfortable, leaving Mikasa and I to get the drinks. She glared at me and turned away into the kitchen. Not wanting to deny the small army of Uni students their precious alcohol, I followed to assist. I recognised a small, foreign-labelled bottle of what looked like tequila, but upon closer inspection it was a small bottle of Raki. I smiled to myself and brought that along, as I knew Eren and I enjoyed it (even if it did cause a mass murder of brain cells and taste buds). 

Mikasa deftly ignored me the entire time we gathered drinks and we set everything out onto a tray which she insisted on carrying, leaving me to bring in a pitiful stack of plastic cups. This really was looking more and more like a frat party as the evening went by. It was even complete with the tacky, cheap plastic pint cups you see in those shitty high school films. 

We wandered back in where the volume was and I made a quick round, handing out plastic cups. They’d each nod or thank me in their own way, and Sasha almost growled until she realised I wasn’t after her crisps. If I was going to have potato I’d prefer to boil ‘em, mash ‘em or stick ‘em in a stew, so to speak. I took my seat and internally chuckled at my own Lord of the- 

“Ring of Fire!” Jean suggested loudly, practically neighing, to which the rest of them all cheered and nodded. Eren seemed particularly excited, so I couldn’t help but wonder what it was I had spaced out to miss. Eren leapt up from his seat beside me as I tried to pour myself a shot’s worth of Raki into a fucking beer pint. This felt ridiculous, but I suppose a cup is a cup and booze is booze, no matter how it ends up in my body. A subtle voice in the back of my mind was trying to gently remind me I had work in the morning but it seems that the group around me had other plans for that. 

“So!” Connie announced as Eren returned with a pack of cards and sat next to me, planting a big sloppy kiss on my cheek. “Does everyone know how to play?” he said, scanning his circle of friends (plus me). I shook my head once his gaze fell onto me and he sat up onto his knees. We were all bunched around Eren and Mikasa’s small coffee table and double sofa/chair set so some of us had to sit on the floor. Thankfully being here first landed me a seat on the sofa next to Eren, who was sandwiched between me and Connie, who was pressed snugly up against Sasha. Mikasa had claimed her single chair as her makeshift throne and the rest were scattered around on the floor, sat on cushions. 

“So, the rules are easy.” Connie set a ring of facedown cards around on the small table and set a cup in the middle. “Pick a booze and you break the ring, you have to drink a full one of these, no matter what you’re drinking!” He tapped the top of the pint cup and I suddenly felt a lot less confident about this, since I don’t think I’d survive another four or five shots of Raki, let alone a fucking bottle and a half of it that would be required to fill these big ass cups. 

He explained that each card meant something different, ranging from one-finger shots to contributing towards dirty pints and running to touch the wall. There are also cards, which trigger wordplay games and I smugly grin to myself figuring I’ve got it made. You fail any of these weird little games, you drink. It’s that simple. I’ll just have to be a little savvier than everyone else ‘cause Eren and I just happen to be drinking something stronger than Satan’s morning piss. Connie messily writes out the list of which card meant what on the back of a napkin and set it beside the ring in case anyone forgot. 

A few turns into the game and everyone’s getting the hang of it and I’m loosening up a little in front of all of Eren’s friends. Mikasa still sends me death glares from my side but it seems to ease up with the more she drinks. It doesn’t help that whenever we pull a card where you can force someone else to drink, we always pick each other out of spite and/or alcohol induced one-upmanship. It’s my turn and I pull a Queen, indicating that someone has to drink if they answer a question asked by me. I set it down on my lap until everyone had conveniently forgotten about it, and _then_ I’d strike. If the person I asked called my question I’d be the one drinking, and I was conscious it was still a work night.

A good hour into the game and most of the others are already pretty drunk, whereas I have managed to avoid most drinks aside from when Mikasa has pulled a card which allowed her to force a shot on me. I turn to Eren, who’s been less fortunate than I and ask quietly into his ear “Hey, what’s the time?” to which he looks down at his watch and announces that it’s “quarter past ten”. I grin from ear to ear and gently hold up my queen from earlier for all to see, to which everyone in the circle freezes and proceeds to burst into laughter at Eren, who looks mortified and betrayed but takes a shot of Raki regardless. 

“You are like.. a… like some sort of queen ninja!” he drunkenly announces to me before slumping against my shoulder into a cuddle. 

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been called that,” I laugh softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

Another half an hour in and I have to admit it’s a pretty fun game. You get to point fingers, cause pain and be sneaky. There area also a few rounds available for puns, word association and rhyming, which I ‘ace’. Pun completely intended. “Weren’t we going to watch movies, guys?” Krista asks innocently as she pulls the third King card, indicating for her to add the final third to the cup in the centre, thus completing the ‘dirty pint’. She has a slight flush to her cheeks from where she’s been drinking alongside Ymir, who keeps wrapping her arm around Krista’s shoulders and being generally over-touchy. Krista doesn’t seem to mind, if a little oblivious to the taller girl’s advances. 

Jean and Connie grin and point at the cup, which gets carefully topped up by Krista. Its thirds consist of berry cider, a full pour (probably worth three or four shots) of Raki from Eren, and finally, Krista’s Amaretto and coke. It looks revolting, and whoever pulls the last King has to down that nasty motherfucker in one go. 

“It’s getting pretty late guys, I’m probably gonna head to bed after this game. Work tomorrow and all” Eren reasons, probably trying to get out of drinking more or probably, pulling the last King. 

“You’re not backing out on us now _are you_ , Eren?” Jean teases with a smirk on his face. 

A few more turns are taken and no one manages to break the ring of cards, however when it returns to me after Mikasa’s two-finger shot, I pull out a card and hold it against my chest so no one can see it until I’ve assessed the damage, so to speak. Every card pulled since the final top-up has been incredibly tense, as the end of the game is nearing and the deadly injection of alcohol sat in front of us is taunting us cruelly. 

I let out a frustrated “Fuck!” but it’s not genuine enough for anyone to bother looking concerned. That or they’re all too drunk to care. I throw my head back and toss the card away from me and it lands just by Marco and Jean’s crossed legs. Jean picks it up and lets out a braying laugh, pointing at me and exhibiting for all to see: the final King. The dirty fucking pint. 

I feel like I’m back at University now, as everyone is egging me on and cheering, as I’ve got the monstrosity of mixed alcohols placed ever so delicately in front of me on the table by Mikasa with a smirk that doesn’t go unnoticed. I briefly feel sorry for the neighbours before staring at the cup for a long moment before shrugging. 

May as well get this over and done with quickly. 

I pick it up and give it a sniff. Not terrible, I have to admit. I give it an experimental sip to test the waters of wretchedness. “Hm.” 

“What’s it like, Levi?” Eren nudges me, and I nearly spill the fucking thing. “Hey, watch it!” I scold him. 

“It tastes like horse piss,” I tell them. Everyone looks at Jean and then laughs. He doesn’t seem amused but at least he’s picked up on the joke. 

I rip enough metaphorical plasters off, so here’s to another one. I raise my plastic cup of hangover into the air in mock salute “here’s to sobriety” before tilting it towards my lips, downing the entire thing within seconds. My gag reflex makes a pathetic attempt to stop me half way, but I set the empty cup down and everyone cheers loudly and drunkenly. We use this opportunity to call the end of the game, as we’re running out of cards as it is. The unknown alcohol content in what I just drank didn’t quite hit me until a few minutes later and once my brain registered the intense level of booze in my system it conked out and I was out cold for the night. Or so that’s what I’m told happened. 

\--- 

I don’t have any idea how long I’d been asleep for but everyone’s gone and all the cups and cards have been cleaned up. Eren is tapping away on his phone quietly as I stir, pushing myself up with what feels like an intense difficulty. Eren looks at me and all I can see is fuzz. I groan and flop back down into the sofa. I feel as though I have absolutely zero control over what my limbs are doing, and I don’t quite remember where I am or how I got here. It’s strangely scary how vulnerable I feel. 

When my legs and hands move it’s as if they are in extreme slow motion. I look down at my hand and attempt to move my fingers but the action doesn’t register and I slowly flop my head back down, blinking slowly and uncoordinatedly, one eye at a time sometimes. I must look fucking hilarious. 

Mikasa walks in with a large glass of water and hands it to Eren. 

“C’mon Levi, drink this.” He hands me the glass and I barely manage to keep hold of it as I sip at it. Eren ends up having to hold the glass for me before my fingers fail me and Mikasa tilts my head back to slip a couple of what I can assume are painkillers down my throat. Eren slips his arm around my waist to help my drunken ass up. As soon as we stand, my stomach flips and I feel my head spin and my footing completely fail me. I stumble slightly and Eren catches me with his other arm. Jesus I’m drunk. So much for work tomorrow.

“You take him to bed, I’ll get a bucket” Mikasa tells Eren, although I can barely hear it through trying to focus on the room spinning around me. I feel Eren’s chest up against my face and it blocks most of the spinning out as he lifts me up. I vaguely recall falling asleep somewhere between drinking the water and getting into bed. Either way, I wake up at four in the morning with a clothed body up against me and bucket next to the bed for me to proceed to empty the entire contents of my stomach into. 

\--- 

**Erwin**

Mike walks with heavy footsteps into the bedroom as I’m reading over some reports while sat in bed. There are unfortunately not enough hours in the day for the amount that needs to be done by myself alone. Delegation is a beautiful thing. Speaking of things of beauty, Mike is looking a little run down tonight. I rake my eyes up and down the man as he removes his shirt and pants, stepping out into his boxers with a tired grunt before stalking into the bathroom. 

I hear his toothbrush start up and I return to my reports until the sounds of teeth brushing and running water have stopped and he walks back into the room, wiping his mouth with a small hand towel. 

“Rough day?” I ask, knowing full well he’s had a bad day. I’ve been married to him for fifteen years; I can tell when he needs to talk something out. 

“Yeah. We came across another dead end on the Shift case. It’s been slowing down lately but we still can’t pinpoint the head.” 

I pause for a moment, as he looks me over, frowning at me working one from home and two from bed. I tidy up the stacks of reports and set them on the floor alongside my laptop. I pat the bed next to me and he moves around to instead sit on the edge on my side next to my crossed ankles. 

“My offer still stands.” I remind him. He flares his nostrils and looks at me sternly, eyes narrowed. 

“Haven’t we done enough to him already?” Clearly this is still playing on his conscious. It is strategically his best option. Why he doesn’t take it isn’t beyond my comprehension though. 

“His life has turned around completely. He’s been clean for years, ever since Uni.” I remind him again; firm in my beliefs that this is the right way to go. 

In his line of work, Mike has been trailing a gang of drug manufacturers for the last eleven or so years. Fortunately he’d managed to get through to the inventor of the drug, called Shift, and given him an out to an otherwise unpleasant existence. The person who invented this drug, although only a teenager at the time was a prodigal student in chemistry, and I had approached him to offer him study in exchange for a job at my Pharmaceuticals Company afterwards. Mike figured he wouldn’t trust a cop, so that’s where my diplomacy was used. 

“It was a win-win scenario, Mike. You know that. I ended up with one of the world’s best Chemists, and you ended up with a way back in, should you need it.” 

“Yeah but our little plan of him relapsing and leading us back in didn’t quite go according to plan, did it?” 

“Hm.” I say. Mike looks at me pointedly. He also has learnt a thing or two about me in our married lives, namely when the cogs and gears are turning in my head or when I need to share some particularly crucial information. “You may not need him to.” 

“What do you mean, Erwin?”

“He was approached again by Kenny.” I admit. Mike’s eyes widen and his mouth drops open a little.

“And you didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell me? What did he say?” 

“We think he wants him to cook again.” 

“Is he going to do it?” 

“He said no.”

Mike closes his mouth and furrows his brows tightly. I beckon him over and shuffle down so my head is against the pillows rather than the headboard. He kicks his feet up onto the bed and crawls over, lying at my side with a stiff arm draped over my middle. 

“I’ll talk it over with the guys at the office tomorrow, see if we can come up with anything useful. Right now though, I’m exhausted.” 

“Mike?” 

“Yeah?”

“Can you promise me one thing?” I ask of him. I understand that what I’m about to ask for may well be impossible to keep, but I ask anyway to ease my conscious however I can. I’d be lying if I said I cared nothing for the man in question. Mike simply looks up at me for me to continue. 

“Keep him safe?” 

Mike looks up at me, sensing the same as me. We both understand that keeping Levi safe may not be a plausible option, but if it benefits the greater good, then perhaps our Queen may need to be sacrificed. 

“I’ll try.” 

\--- 

**Levi**

**New Message**  
From: **Petra**  
_Heeey grumpsters, when are we getting together for that double date you promised?_

To: **Petra**  
_Don’t call me that. And how does next Friday sound?_

From: **Petra**  
_Perfect! I’ll let Oluo know to set everything up._

\--- 

To: **Eren**  
_Hey brat, meet me at ‘The Magnolia’ on Friday at 7._  
_Black tie, wear something formal._  
_You’re meeting Petra_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, my favourite chapter.


	8. Sweet, Wonderful You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is hella long. Whoopsie!
> 
> Check out RL's giordanna hand-beaded dress from this year's collection. It's what Petra wears.

**Eren**

“It’s fine the way it is!” I snap at Mikasa as she fusses over my tie. She backs off and folds her arms, glaring at me. “Suit yourself,” she retorts before sitting back on my bed whilst I comb through my unruly hair with some gel. I’ve managed to somehow slick it back into a rather suave James Bond style look, which is pretty neat. 

“You should wear your hair out of your face more often, makes you look older you know” Mikasa adds, to which for once, I can’t complain at her comment. 

So Levi and I have been seeing each other for a while now, months, and Levi is nearing the final stages of his divorce. He does however want me to meet Petra, so I’m unsure quite how to feel at the moment. I’m nervous because despite their differences, Petra seems to have played a big part in Levi’s life and she’s one of his only friends. He seems to keep people away and not let them too close, for whatever reason, but Petra’s been by his side for years. It’s strange how I don’t really feel threatened by Petra, as the noises Levi makes in bed can’t be fake. He’s not a very good liar. When he does want to, he just keeps quiet – and he’s never quiet in bed. 

It’s easy to see when Levi doesn’t want to tell you something. I’m pretty stubborn so I can see the same heel digging in him. He just retracts from the world and bottles it up. He’s honest though, which is good, it just takes a little patience and trust to get him to open up. Something he’s been doing more and more around me, which I never forget to express my appreciation for. I’m fairly sure he’s had it pretty rough in life but he’s yet to share, the last time he opened up to any major degree was when he caught me in the lobby a few weeks after I’d found out he was married. 

My contemplation in front of the mirror is intersected by Mikasa’s voice. It’s quieter and soft, like usual when she’s not chastising me over being an idiot (also known as _right_ ). 

“You really care about him, don’t you?” 

“…Yeah” I say after a pause, equally as quiet.

“What’s he like?” she asks quietly as I head into the cabinet of my bathroom for some cologne. “I mean, when I’m not all up in his face, or he’s surrounded by all our friends?” Huh, she’s curious to see what I see in him? It’s great to hear especially from Mikasa as I think it means she’s trying to accept him. My heart swells with warmth, which spreads across my chest and back, sending pleasant shivers down my arms. I return to the bedroom with three small bottles, handing them all to her to sniff whilst I sort out my onyx cufflinks. 

Mikasa takes a slow sniff of each one as I speak, “Well. He’s not much different to when you met him. He’s pretty straightforward. He says what’s on his mind whether it bothers people or not. He doesn’t tolerate my tantrums – which…” I laugh softly “kinda reminds me of you and mum.”

Mikasa looks up from the second bottle she’s sniffing and smiles amiably at me. She returns to sniffing the last bottle and then returns to compare them. “Tell me more,” she says as she makes a choice and beckons me closer. 

“Well, he’s so funny Mikasa. I can’t even describe it. He’s got the strangest sense of humour I’ve ever come across. He’s witty and clever and has an obscene love for Fleetwood Mac.” I lean over to where she’s sat on the end of the bed and tilt my head back as Mikasa dabs some of her choice cologne onto her little finger, tapping it just behind my ears on both sides. 

“You should challenge him to a game of scrabble” she snickered. 

“That’s a really good idea. No one’s beat me in years” 

“Well then, Eren.” She looks up at me with a completely unreadable expression on her face. I finish off my cuffs and adjust my tie once more as she continues. “If he can beat you at scrabble, I’ll give you my blessing and completely accept the fact you’re dating him. I’ll even be happy for you.” 

We both laugh although mine is a little bit measured and I ask if she’s serious, a completely shocked look on my face once I realise what she’s offering. 

“No, you dumbass.” Oh. I knew it was too good to be true, so I can’t help but look a little crestfallen and my head drops. Mikasa stands up and tilts my chin back up to look her in the eye. “Eren. I can tell just by how you talk about him that you love him,” she says, to which I can feel my cheeks heating up. I know I feel pretty strongly about him, but hearing it out loud, from my sister, who hates him… 

“I, Uh” I stutter out, but she smiles and rubs her thumb across my cheek. 

“Mum would have loved him.” She says, smiling almost sadly. 

I smile so widely I fear my face might split in two, and at Mikasa’s words I feel a cool drip trickle down my left cheek. I can’t do anything other than nod, whilst she gently wipes the tear away. 

“You think?” I mumble. 

“I know.” 

We pause for a moment to give one another a brief but warm hug, and she snaps “right then,” instantly changing the mood and into military drill sergeant mode. “Get your ass into that jacket and get going. You’ll be late. I scurry away from her gentle touch and quickly slip into my black jacket. I pull my patent black dress shoes out from under my desk and set them by my feet as I slip into them, bending over to tie the laces. I stand up straight and fuss with my hair once more before straightening everything over with my hands, brushing off imaginary dust. 

I’m wearing a full black suit with a paisley teal shirt and a black tie. It’s a slim fit suit, so it hugs everything just so, showing off all of my best assets in one go. I love this suit, I’m glad Levi invited me out to a formal dinner; I rarely get any decent opportunities to wear it. My hair has been slicked back and I’m looking pretty impeccable if I do say so myself. 

“How do I look?” I grin at Mikasa, knowing full well I look like the dog’s bollocks. 

“You’ll be fine. You look great,” she says, clearly sensing I’m using humour to hide my anxiety. 

\--- 

With Mikasa’s blessing of mine and Levi’s relationship, I pay the taxi driver once we arrive at the place Levi asked for me to be dropped off at. The place looks like the Ritz. It’s lined with white archways and exotic potted trees, fancy lighting and lots of marble. Everything is marble. I get a glimpse of the name as the doorman in the crisp penguin suit opens the car door, and it reads in tasteful neon dotted lights: The Magnolia.

I stand utterly dazzled by the beauty of everything, feeling damn pleased I dressed so formally. It makes me wonder what Petra is like, whether she’s some rich, glamorous celebrity type. I am approached by another well-dressed penguin that asks “Mister Yeager? Mister Ackerman and Miss Ral are awaiting your arrival, please follow me.” Ooh, fancy. Levi what are you up to?

The penguin suit man leads me into a lounge type area with lots of exquisitely upholstered furniture with small coffee tables dotted about. I spot Levi first and when he sees me he stands up, smiling like I’ve never seen him smile before. I’m taken aback by how he’s dressed. All of his almost-black ash brown hair has been swept over to one side and styled out of his face, giving a perfect view of his undercut and without the hair overshadowing his face, I actually notice his eyes border upon a clear light blue colour. It also looks as if he hasn’t shaved in a couple of days, as he’s got an incredibly sexy five o’clock shadow.

To my surprise, he’s wearing a suit I recognise. It’s a McQueen art deco suit which reminds me a little of a Klimt painting. It’s patterned with gold and black brick-like patterns and he’s paired it with a simple black shirt and a plain black silk tie. Much like mine, it’s tailored to perfection. 

Sat beside him and also working her way to her feet to greet me, is a pretty petite redheaded woman who doesn’t look much older than me. She’s a bit taller than Levi, which somehow doesn’t surprise me, but she’s got a pair of tan heels on so that’s probably why. By the looks of it she’d be just shorter than him without. She’s wearing a stunning light tan beaded, art-deco-esque dress and she looks like a fucking glamour queen with her tan fur shawl sat beside her. Would it be inappropriate to ask him why he’s getting a divorce from this bombshell? I can certainly see why he’d go for her in the first place, personality aside at the very least, having not gotten to know her yet. 

With my jaw touching the floor at the glamorous pair, I suddenly blink out of my stupor and hold my hand out eagerly towards Petra. “Uhh. Hi! I’m Eren!” I say perhaps a little too nervously as she shakes my hand with a cute little smile. Levi takes my hand and pulls me into a hug, of which I’m a little rigid and unsure how to behave in front of my boyfriend’s wife. He gently taps my chin and I look down at him, cheeks probably bright red by now. He gives me a quick peck on the lips and Petra smiles at the pair of us. It’s strange how he can be so openly affectionate in front of his wife. They must be on really good terms, like he’s said.

“Petra this is Eren, Eren this is Petra.” We both smile at each other, although perhaps it’s more nerves forcing my lips upwards more than anything else. What if she doesn’t like me? 

“Sit,” Levi encourages us, so we do. Petra is sat opposite us and Levi leans his shoulder against mine. 

“This place is amazing,” I say, feeling a little out of place with all the glamour and elegance. 

Levi ignores my childlike wonder and asks Petra “when’s he getting here?” to which I perk up and ask, “It’s not just us three?” 

Petra shakes her head with a smile and looks over her shoulder. “He should be here any minute now. Knowing him he’s probably stopped to yammer on at someone and bit his tongue again” 

Levi helped me along and filled in the blanks. I was looking obviously confused. “This is a first for me, too. Petra’s boyfriend is also joining us. They’ve been dating around the same length of time as us”

I feel my shoulders drop with… is that relief? Why does it make me feel pleased that Petra has a boyfriend? I had thought about it in the earlier stages of our dating, that I felt a little bad for taking Levi from her, but now I get it confirmed that that hasn’t been the case. They really are separating, and Levi really will be all mine in a matter of short weeks. It almost doesn’t feel real, so I look between Petra and Levi, neither of whom are wearing wedding rings. Another drop of relief and I ease into Levi’s side. He wraps his arm around my waist and nuzzles up against me, linking his fingers with his free hand with mine. 

“So what do you do, Eren?” she asks.

“Oh!” I sit upright a little bit. “I just got my degree in Biochemistry, so I’ve just started working for Sina Pharmaceuticals. I’m starting out as a Laboratory Assistant. It’s super interesting.” I toned my voice down a little as I continued, “I’d like to help find a cure for cancer.” I said with a sheepish smile. “Even if I don’t discover it myself, I want to help cancer patients improve their quality of treatment and aftercare, even if only by a tiny amount.” 

“That’s amazing, Eren” she beamed. “I work for Sina too. Although I doubt you’d see me around, I work on the seventieth floor” 

“Ooh, the elusive seventy!” I say, wiggling my free hand’s fingers with a cheeky grin. “Isn’t that HR?” I ask.

“Yep!” she chirps happily. 

“Yeah, I’ve never so much as gone further than fifty. All the labs are between ten and twenty, so…” 

Levi chimes in with a cough and I amend my previous sentence. “Well. _Most_ of the labs.” It seems all three of us understand the reference and we let out a soft laugh each as a waiter turns up at our little alcove of sofas. 

“Good evening, Madam, Sirs,” he gives us a little polite head bob. “Your fourth guest has rang ahead to say he’s running late, however if you would like to follow me, I can have you set up at your table for the evening and bring you some beverages.”

We all get up and Petra and I exchange a few more little details about ourselves. Turns out she’s dreaming of re-writing some of the common procedures within Sina with how the staff are treated. Seems we’re both looking to improve people’s quality of life. I like her already, a lot. Levi seems content to keep his hands in his pockets and let us talk. A very faint smile graces his thin lips every now and then and I steal occasional glances to check up on him. He seems… content.

We are shown into a lavish dining hall with extremely tall walls, complete with a small platform with a few musicians on it and a pair of beautiful crystal chandeliers. The main focus of the room however is the glass ceiling, which domes beautifully up and over a large marble dance floor. Dead centre to the left of the dance floor, opposite the band, is a large raised bedding which holds the most magnificent magnolia tree I’ve ever seen. The whole thing branches out sideways over the tables and stretches upwards into the edge of the dome above it. Being early autumn, it’s still in its last vestiges of full bloom, the entire tree looks more ivory and white than green. It’s stunning. 

The waiter shows us to a table for four underneath the large tree and we have our chairs positioned so that we all have a good view of the few people out on the dance floor taking a few slow spins to the classical music. It’s mainly just old couples enjoying anniversaries, or middle-aged people with their spouses taking their kids out for a birthday or graduation.

Shortly after ordering some drinks, a man roughly my height is shown to our table and Petra smiles brightly and practically leaps from her seat and into his arms. He hugs her tightly and kisses her cheek. He seems almost as embarrassed as me when Levi approached me in front of Petra not too long ago. One look at Levi’s blank expression though and he’s soon straightening his posture and stiffly offering a hand out to him. 

I’ve seen that move before, about half an hour ago. 

Levi nodded at him and eyed him up and down. He had a simple navy suit on and what looked like a white cravat tucked into a plain white dress shirt. He had an almost grim look on his face, as he seemed to shrink in Levi’s presence. Surely he’s not that scary. Levi didn’t shake his hand, although he doesn’t tend to touch strangers anyway, that much I knew. 

“Levi, Eren, I want you to meet Oluo Bozado. This is Levi, I’ve told you about him, and this is his boyfriend Eren.” Petra explained as they both took their seats under the grand indoor tree. Our drinks were brought over and it was briefly explained that dinner would be served over five short courses, offering a taste of the best things on their menu. Rather than one plate of lots of food, we were constantly topped up on fine wines, fruits, freshly baked bread rolls and occasional plates of small meat cuts or delicate arrangements of thinly sliced… I don’t know whats. It all tasted like edible gold, and it was all cooked to beyond perfection. 

I hummed in sheer pleasure at almost everything I tried, as did Petra. Oluo and Levi simply smiled occasionally and hummed in approval when they enjoyed anything in particular. They both seemed a little rigid around each other until we’d made it to the fourth course and were on our… hang on. 

“It’s so hard to tell how many glasses I’ve had. As soon as you take a sip _they re-fill it_!” I explained to the table as if it were some huge conspiracy. We were all getting along really well aside from Oluo’s stiffness around Levi. It seemed that he was a bit intimidated by his girlfriend’s short, angry looking gay husband in a gold art deco suit. Must admit, it’s not every day you get to say that kinda statement though, let alone be a participating member in it. 

Petra laughed jovially at my statement and gave us all a hushed hand gesture. “Watch this, gentlemen!” She took a long swig from her wine glass and set it down carefully. It was as if we all held our breaths and waited for something to happen, until a sommelier walked past with a wine bottle and briskly topped her glass up. We held our breaths for a short moment until he’d left and we all burst out laughing. The wine, music and epic food had certainly loosened everyone up. 

We spoke about one another over each course and I’d learnt a lot about Petra and Levi, as well as how they were able to afford a dinner like this in a place this magnificent. Turns out Oluo was one of the head chefs working here and everything for us was on the house. He shared with us how some clients would rent the entire place out for millions for weddings and receptions. They’d do the entire ceremony on-site and everything, including flying all the family’s relatives over and putting them up into rooms. Speaking of which…

“So, you two lovebirds, when’s the wedding?” Oluo piped up with a smug look on his face as he wiggled his dessert fork between Levi and I. 

I almost choked on my mouthful of apple tart and Levi seemed to go rigid in his seat. Levi composed himself a hell of a lot quicker than I did and whilst I was busy washing down a near coughing fit with some more wine, he simply stated, “I want to take him dancing before then. I don’t want our first dance to be at the reception.” 

If I thought I could wash away the coughing fit, after that statement I failed miserably, beating at my chest as the tart cleared. Cheeks flushed red from the coughing and eyes wide; I just gape at Levi, shocked. 

“That is, if you’d have me,” he says cautiously as he stands up, holding his hand out. I can feel the blood drain from my face and I simply gawk. Holy shit. Is this actually happening? Right now? 

“Are you… uh… pro-posing?” I stutter out, slamming a hand against my chest as my mouth suddenly turns dry and my heart starts beating a million miles a minute. 

“Am I bent on one knee with a ring?” he deadpans. 

“Oh… uh… huh?” 

“Come on, brat. Dance with me” he says as he beckons me over whilst he takes a few steps toward the dance floor with his arm still extended. I look back to Petra and Oluo and Petra simply gives me a little nod of encouragement as she sips her wine and finishes off her dessert.  
I carefully set my napkin aside and a waiter passing by assists with pulling my chair out and I take Levi’s hand as he leads me onto the dance floor. The band is playing a soft melody, led by the pianist. It sounds like something classical but I don’t know the name of it. I stand awkwardly opposite from Levi and he takes my hand in his, and places it atop his shoulder and then takes my free hand in his and sets his hand on my waist. 

He leans in close, holding my back and whispers to me “follow my lead.”

With the speed of the song, it’s very easy for us to just make small steps around one another, and before long I find myself completely comfortable with where our feet end up. Not once (thankfully) do I step on his toes and as the song speeds up we find ourselves widening our steps and travelling almost gracefully around the dance floor with a bit more speed. The song slowly begins to crawl to a slow pace once again and Levi pulls me against him, arching up to slowly pull me into a kiss. 

The kiss is short and innocent, no passion behind it and I lean down to rest my head on Levi’s shoulders as we gently rock in the centre of the marble dance floor. I close my eyes and keep both my arms wrapped around his neck, simply enjoying his scent. The piano’s gentle tinkling simmers down to a complete stop. We stand still in each other’s arms on the dance floor, just below the white flowered tree and gaze into one another’s eyes. 

A musician at the platform gets up from his seat at a cello to man the microphone as soft applause fills the hall. “Thank you, now we would like to welcome you all to join us for a waltz.” They announce. I look at Levi with a slight look of worry in my eyes and he smiles widely at me. 

“Don’t worry Eren, waltzing is meant to be fun. Just do whatever.” He reassures me. I still don’t particularly want to look like a complete idiot though, so I start rigidly as we take our position again. I glance around to see that even Petra and Oluo, along with several other couples of mixed relations take to the floor. It’s lovely; there are fathers and daughters, siblings, spouses and various other combinations all taking to the floor hand in hand. I even spot briefly what must be a grandfather and a great granddaughter dancing slightly, the little girl only being about three feet tall. 

Levi straightened up a little and we practically pranced out in between the other dancers as the music began. The song was familiar but I didn’t know the name, it was energetic and lively and there was a great buzz on the dance floor alongside all the other pairs. Skill level didn’t seem to come into play with anyone, we all looked as clueless as each other, but we were having fun. Having gained a little confidence, I threw a few twists in and we even swapped partners at some stage. I ended up with Petra and we both laughed loudly as Levi ended up tangled in Oluo’s arms, much to both their dismay. They both suddenly had two left feet and it was hilarious. 

Shortly after, and original partners in hand, another song picks up and we all decide to have another go, trying out this whole waltzing thing. It’s fun. It means the world to me that Levi would bring me somewhere like this, knowing what it means to me. The next song slows and the musicians stand to bow. We all clap and Levi looks at me as if to ask if I want another dance, to which I nod fervently, saying “yes” on repeat, despite how tired I’m getting.

“I’ll be right back” Levi says, and I stand confused in the centre of the dance floor as he jogs over to the band stand, catching the attention of the pianist who crouches down to him and listens to whatever he’s saying. They both look at me when Levi points me out and I can’t help but blush a little. The pianist grins, nods and turns to the rest of the band, pulling them together and evidently it seems Levi has requested something. He jogs back over and smiles at me. 

“Why am I getting a bad feeling about this, Levi?” I ask him cautiously. 

“Sorry in advance.” He says. 

I perk an eyebrow as I hear what the band begin to slowly play, primarily soft on more or less every instrument with occasional toots of a trumpet. It’s a little bit jazzy and I can swear I recognise it, but it seems to be a purely instrumental version, so I’m not so sure. 

“Is this?” Levi grins devilishly, looking as me as he takes up my hands and we start to dance slowly in no particular direction.

My entire focus is enveloped as Levi takes me around the dance floor, singing as we go, in a tone I don’t think I’ve ever heard before. He sounds soft, melodic and yet strangely confident. If he’s concerned about what I think of him, he’s hiding it very well. 

“L is for the way you look at, me, O is for the only one I see, V is very very, _extraordinary_ , E is even more than anyone that you adore.” _Now_ I recognise the song. 

“Love, is all that I can give to you. Love is more than just a game for two. Two in love can make it, take my heart and please don’t break it; love was made for me and you.” 

His eyes are locked with mine as if I’m the only thing that exists at the moment. I can’t stop myself from grinning and almost laughing, and I let him serenade me a little while longer before we’re both swaying to the short interval in the song. As soon as it picks back up, I join in with him, our footwork speeding up in time with the added brass instruments. 

“L is for the way you look at me, O is for the only one I see, V is very very, _extraordinary_!, E is even more than anyone that you adore.”

“Love, is all that I can give to you.” We practically belt out into each other’s faces, laughing as we pick up the next part, having missed a bit “-more than just a game for two.” 

“Twooo in love can make it take my heart and _please_ don’t break it! Love was made for me and you”

“Love was made for me and you.”

“Love was made for me and you.”

We cheer and clap slightly too loudly for the venue yet we don’t care. The band takes a little bow and takes a breather for drinks as the soft applause in the hall dies down, most of the dancers returning to their seats. 

Levi and I don’t separate though, staying in each other’s arms for a while longer. Levi rests his head on my chest and wraps his arms around my neck whilst I rest my hands just above his hips, holding him close as we sway soothingly to nothing but the feeling of each other’s warmth. Levi says, “You’re beautiful, Eren Yeager, and I meant what I said. Give it time before thinking about marriage, but I’m _certain_ I want to keep hold of you for as long as possible.” I feel my ears heating up again as he speaks softly against my chest.

“I’m not going anywhere, Levi.” I tell him honestly. At this moment in time and for the foreseeable future I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

“Good.” He says, allowing me to spin him around by one hand to hold him around his waist with his back to my chest, swaying our hips together slowly. I look over his shoulder towards the table we were sat at and Petra and Oluo are cuddled up together just watching the stars outside above the elegant glass dome. 

“Let’s go finish our desserts,” I say as the musicians proceeded to re-man their instruments to play into another song. 

“Sure thing, brat.” 

The night came to a close and Petra left with Oluo, leaving the townhouse for Levi and I to return to. He’d already started boxing things up for his move, so when we arrived, half of the things I was used to seeing lying around were gone or in boxes. He only had a few here or there, he’s a bit of a minimalist, but that’s okay. He’d found a few houses he liked, but was waiting for the bank to get in touch before he could figure out what he could afford. 

He led me inside and gently pushed me onto the sofa, crawling up and straddling my lap. He messed up my hair a little and carded his fingers through the hair at the base of my head and I slipped my hands onto his hips, pushing his shirt up out from his trousers to be able to feel his skin. 

Without words, he tilted his head, closing his eyes and his lips locked with mine. Our mouths moved against each other slowly and Levi gave my bottom lip a little suck before swiping his tongue against it and kissing me again. I slowly parted my lips and slackened my jaw and he followed suit, warm, wet tongues slowly making their way into mouths, taking turns at stroking and licking at the other’s. There were no power games in this kiss, just sharing one another’s taste and revelling in each other’s scents. Levi occasionally pulled away to simply kiss me deeply on the lips, lovingly so, before retuning his tongue into the mix. 

My hands trailed up under his black shirt and celebrated at the feel of the tight, toned muscles on his back, pulling him a little closer to me. He moaned quietly into my mouth and broke our kiss to begin gently rocking his hips down against mine as my hands travelled down his back towards his gorgeous arse. I slipped my hands beneath the waistband of his trousers and underwear and gently kneaded the firm plush of his buttocks. His hips continued to roll forward and back, my own rising to meet each movement, as our erections grew firmer and daringly obvious between us. I threw my head back against the sofa and Levi took a hold of my hair, lifting himself up onto his knees to kiss me from above, assaulting my mouth with slightly more passionate bites and kisses. 

We simply enjoy writhing against one another for a few moments longer before we break away for air and stare at each other with heated gazes, panting heavily. 

I sit forward, still grasping his lovely arse cheeks and move him over to the side, now with his head rested against the sofa arm, his body presented beautifully before me to do with as I pleased. I shuffled into position so I could lie on my front, propping Levi’s legs over my shoulders as I nuzzled my face into his groin. He doesn’t smell unpleasant; he’s the cleanest man I think I’ve ever met even after a night of dancing. It’s a very gentle musky scent mixed with sandalwood every time and it’s so unmistakably _Levi_. I can’t wait to get a taste of that glorious manhood. 

Without further ado, I held my hands around his hips as he carded a hand through my hair and I locked eyes with him as I teasingly unzipped his dress pants with my teeth. I unhurriedly shimmied his trousers down, promptly mouthing at the outline of his erection through his boxer briefs. I left open-mouthed kisses all over the now very prominent bulge beneath the single layer of cotton and Levi gripped hold of my hair and occasionally scratched at my shoulders whenever a bolt of pleasure shot up him, making him shudder beneath my hands. He has remarkably sensitive hips, so I make sure to trail my kisses from his hidden erection up to his hip bones.

I can’t help but revel in the moment when he closed his eyes and worried at his bottom lip out of delight. He’s got a slight flush of red heating his cheeks and his knees occasionally spasm whenever I kiss somewhere particularly sensitive. 

I teased his hips with soft bites and warm, loving kisses; nothing hard enough to leave marks, as I slowly lowered his boxer waistband to reveal more gloriously pale flesh. I kissed along the v-line of his stomach towards his groin as I released his arousal from its confines. He shuddered and groaned languidly as I took a light hold of the base of his now fully erect cock. It’s a thing of magnificence, Levi’s cock. It’s not as long as mine, but it’s definitely thicker. I vaguely wonder what it would feel like for him to fuck _me_ for a change. It’s been months and I’ve only ever topped with him. 

I gently kiss and lick around the underside of the tip of Levi’s arousal and he let out quiet little whimpering mewls. I teased my way down with light, tantalising touches and kisses all the way to the bottom before completely slackening my jaw and taking his entire length into my throat in one go until I feel the bristle of coarse hair at my nose tip. 

“Holy shit Eren” he exclaims, jerking slightly into my throat as I engulf him entirely. I’d been practicing dulling my gag reflex for the last year or so, using my toothbrush, so this doesn’t feel uncomfortable aside from the distraction from breathing it causes. I have to hold his hips steady as I gently ease the bobbing of my head, feeling the tip touch the back of my throat each time. Levi is a hot wreck by now, firmly tugging at my hair before letting go and gripping at the fabric of the sofa arm behind his head. I look straight up at him the entire time I deep throat him, tears starting to prickle the corners of my eyes as I increase the speed of my ministrations. 

I hollow my cheeks and increase the suction, bobbing slightly shallower now so I can go faster. Levi starts to moan loudly and mumble out various profanities (as he does when he’s drawing closer, he gets surprisingly vocal towards his orgasm). With one final firm suck, I feel him convulse beneath me and I his cock twitched in my mouth. There is a tiny amount of semen from his orgasm, but it’s barely worth noting. The majority of his orgasms are bone dry, but a little bit isn’t too uncommon. I bask in what I do get of the mildly salty taste and slow my pace down as he rides out his orgasm, desperately trying to buck into my mouth. 

I pulled my mouth off with a loud pop and lay my head against his still shaking thigh, looking up at him with half closed eyes. He looks down at me before slowly closing his eyes, waiting for his breathing to steady. 

“Tell me next time you plan on pulling shit like that,” he grumbles. I can tell he’s not angry though, his voice is laced with lust and desire. Animalistic almost. 

“That would spoil the surprise though,” I quipped back, feigning hurt and pouting my probably pink lips.

Levi runs his hand through his hair then settles a hand down into my own hair, gently rubbing my scalp, something that I’ve started to find incredibly soothing. I barely have time to remember my own aching cock as the soothing head rub seems to engulf all of my focus and I find myself lulling to sleep tiredly. Levi hums quietly and mumbles “we should get upstairs to bed.” To which I can only nod. 

We push ourselves up and off one another and my erection has wilted down somewhat to just gone half-mast. I’m not particularly bothered about getting off tonight, I’m more than happy to just- 

“Huh?” I look down and Levi is snaking his hand past my trouser buttons and boxers waistband. 

Scrap that previous thought, looks like Levi has other plans. 

“Thought we were going to sleep?” 

“Not on my watch you don’t. Not after head like that” he grins at me mischievously, tugging me from the bathroom where we’d been about to brush our teeth and into the bedroom. He sits me down on the end of the bed and moves around to the bedside table, pulling out a tube of lubricant and a condom, throwing them over to me. 

I stare at them and for a moment I pause. Levi catches my hesitation and suddenly looks concerned. 

“Hey, we don’t have to if you don’t feel like it” he tells me in a gentle, caring tone.

“No no, that’s not it. I uh, I was just wondering…”

“What?”

“If you’d um…” 

“Spit it out, brat” 

“If maybe you’d… top today?” I mumble nervously. His eyes widen fractionally. 

“Are you sure?” he asks. That’s one thing I love about him, he’ll only ever do anything if he’s sure I’m a hundred per cent comfortable with it. I nod at him and lean back onto my elbows, parting my legs slightly in an obvious presentation of submission. 

“Please, Levi” I whine out, and a fire lights in his grey-blue eyes, melting them to the colour of liquid mercury. There’s almost something feral in his eyes as he rakes his gaze up and down my slightly lewd, exposed position. I shuffle my trousers down and my cock springs free, now fully erect against my stomach. Levi licks his lips and strips off his shirt swiftly. Clothes are strewn and shucked everywhere and we’re naked all aside from the black tie Levi insisted I keep on. 

Apparently it’s “sexy”. 

He adjusts the tie a little, wiggling the knot closer towards my throat and I gasp as a shudder shoots down my spine towards my tailbone and crotch. “Hah! Tighter, Levi” I pant out. I knew that the occasional spank or hair pull would intensify any pleasure I was feeling, but I had no idea how it would feel having something around my neck. 

Levi eyed me carefully and I nodded profusely at him. “Pineapple!” I hurriedly shouted at him. He looked so confused it was funny. He scrunched his face up as if I’d just injected lemon juice into his mouth. 

“What the _actual_ fuck? Eren?”

“Tighter, Levi. If it gets too much I’ll say pineapple, now fuck me goddammit!” I snap at him. He considers it for a moment, giving me a look as if to ask if I was sure and I simply pull him down on top of me into a bruising kiss in response. 

“Very well then, my gorgeous stallion. Get on your knees and wave that pretty ass of yours over here.” He ordered, sitting back on his haunches and watching me as if he were preparing to devour me. 

I roll over onto my stomach and Levi’s hands hook around my thighs as I prop myself up onto my knees. I feel his hands move to my arse cheeks and I feel them part slightly, only to feel a sudden wet sensation probing around my entrance. I let out a shameless moan and almost jerk forwards back onto the bed. Levi links an arm around my hips to gently stroke my length as he works his tongue around and just inside my entrance. The pleasure gets so intense that I can’t stand it much longer. 

“Hgnn, Levi hurry.” 

He straightens up behind me and runs a cool hand up the centre of my spine towards the tie, which he pulls around to the back of my neck.

“What was that, you little shit?” he growls into my ear as he tugs experimentally on the tie, forcing my head back and interrupting my breathing just a little, but not enough to be uncomfortable. 

“Hah, please, Levi. I need your-“ A sudden heat filled me to the brim and Levi let out a loud, throaty moan. There was a burning sensation wracking my lower back as Levi started to move within me before I’d had time to even really be prepped or adjust to his intense girth. I groaned into the pillow under my face and gripped the sheets hard enough for my knuckles to turn white. 

“Jesus Eren you’re so fucking _tight_!” he groaned deeply. 

His thrusts started to become less and less painful and more and more pleasurable as my body got used to the size and the movement. Just as I thought it was going to be an entirely _pleasurable_ experience from then on out, the hold on the tie around my neck tightened and Levi’s thrusts became more and more powerful, his hips snapping into me with a little more force than the last thrust. 

I began seeing stars and my vision started to turn blurry as my entire body was overcome with the most intense pleasure I’ve possibly ever experienced. My breathing was becoming more and more ragged and it was getting more and more difficult to breathe. My throat was beginning to dry out and my cries of haggard ecstasy didn’t go unnoticed. Levi jackhammered into me at full speed, bringing us both to the edge in less than a few minutes. It felt more like a century with how slowly the world had started to spin once he tightened his grip on the tie, pulling my neck back with each thrust. 

I felt myself erupt all over the bed sheets like never before and my body jolted and twitched every time I spurted a stream of hot white fluid. The hold on the tie around my neck loosened as Levi’s thrusts became more erratic and eventually slowed. I’d sort of expected him to take it easy on his first time topping, but that was _intense_. It takes me a long few minutes to get my breathing back to normal and as soon as I flop onto my back, Levi is beside me.

He loosens the tie and gently kisses around the slight red mark around my neck. He litters my neck, jaw and lips with peppered kisses and keeps a hand over my chest on my heart. 

“Did I hurt you?” he asks quietly, still panting heavily and covered with a thin sheen of sweat. It’s almost a shame to see that sexy hairstyle so dishevelled, but totally worth it to feel his slight stubble brushing lovingly against my neck and jaw. 

“No” I huff between short breaths, “No, I’m fine, let’s- hah, shower before we dry and solidify into place” 

“You’re a fast learner,” he agrees with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm playing with ideas for a small short fic, where Levi is a London Underground driver who works the graveyard shift, constantly getting in trouble with his boss for smoking on the platforms and getting blowjobs from his boyfriend Eren whilst driving the train. 
> 
> Shit goes down and it basically turns into a bloodbath. Let me know if you think it's worth continuing! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	9. Thunder Only Happens...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to split this chapter into two, so 10 will be a direct continuation of this one, but a bit shorter.  
> Apologies that it's basically just a bunch of different conversations. 
> 
> Enjoy! Also, sorry not sorry. Had to happen. :D

Fast forward a couple weeks and I found myself out at work solo since it was Eren’s day off. It was the world’s most average day. I caught half of the green lights on the way to work, average traffic, The first half of my shift had been dragging like a bitch because I’d started to get hungry and Hange was in a fucking _peachy_ mood. 

“Come on, that was funny!” she borderline howls. Gunter, Eld and even Moblit are all smiling. Glad to see I’m a great source of fucking amusement. 

“Fuck off, four eyes” 

“Ooh, if looks could kill! Levi you really need to lighten up a bit.”

“I’ll light _you_ up. On fire” I deadpanned. 

“Pfft, that’s no way to talk to your best friend!” she almost looked hurt if it weren’t for the tell-tell glitter of amusement sparkling across her goggled eyes. 

“Tch. Spare me, please.”

“Hey Levi?” Eld calls from across the intercom from the other side of the lab. He’s currently bunched head to toe into a respiratory suit with the full works, having told him to organise the real deadly stuff today in the segregated isolation chamber. I tap a little button from my station to respond with a bored sounding “Yes, Princess Peach?” Hange simply cackles in the background and Eld responds. 

“Houston, we have a problem. There’s some missing.” he says, with every ounce of his tone as serious as it ought to be when dealing with missing biohazards. I wasn’t lying when I said the decon guys were employed to lock us away like the Hive employees. I stiffen and instantly walk over to the small computer just outside from the containment unit he’s working in. I tap at it to pull up the inventory and give it a look over. 

“Which one, Eld?” I say into the small intercom mic outside the sealed room. 

He shuffles around through one of the refrigerators and whilst he does so I glance over my shoulder towards where the others are working and they’re all bunched up together like a gaggle of giggling schoolgirls. Hange being ringleader, naturally. I turn back to Eld who removes his hand from the fridge and back into sight, holding up a middle finger for me to behold, as he grins stupidly behind his visor. 

“Yeah, the missing ingredient is your sense of humour” he quips over the intercom before bursting into laughter, the rest of the technicians behind me joining in. Ha ha. _Very fucking funny_. These assholes sure know how to put me in a bad mood. They know I hate wasting time. 

I turn on my heel and return to my station to continue working. Eld is still laughing in his space suit and Hange comes over and tries to hug me, clinging onto my side like a fucking limpet. I attempt to shake her off and mutter various creative curse words beneath my breath. 

“Aaaww, Levi we didn’t mean it!” she crooned. “You have a sense of humour, we were just playing!” she pouted at me as I finally managed to detach her with a piercingly cold glare to follow. I was slowly sinking into a fouler mood as the day went on and I was not in the mood for Hange’s playground shit inside a fucking professional laboratory. 

“Fuck you, I’m going on lunch.” Hange simply nodded and the rest seemed to have taken the hint that I was not amused. 

“Fine, fine. Are you coming back after or staying in the office?” she asked. 

“Probably coming back in here,” (much to my dismay, ugh). 

“Well!” she says louder than necessary, with a firm slap to my back, “Enjoy, and stay outta trouble, yeah?” 

\--- 

I sat at Maria’s for lunch in a different spot this time. Eren and mine’s usual booth was taken today. I ordered my usual pot of tea, rooibos, and a croissant. I come in here so often these days they’ve started giving me croissants for free, which is nice. That and it helps that your boyfriend knows the staff outside of work. Due to my previous night of rigorous exercise with said certain young man; I was far hungrier than usual, so I ordered myself a toasted sandwich with a “surprise me” inside it. I didn’t have nearly enough patience to choose through their plethora of ingredients on offer. Just feed me, I don’t care what with. 

I fished out my wallet, paid and took my phone out as I sat at a random table. I flicked through a few emails before my phone vibrates in my palm. It’s a message with an attachment from Eren. 

**New Message**  
From **Eren** :  
_Hey check this out xx_

I open the image and perk an eyebrow. He’d taken a selfie of himself in front of an MOT bay of the garage I asked him to take the MG to. He made the main focus of it a cage of car exhausts and a stack of tyres in the background. As usual he’s grinning ear to ear. Hopelessly confused, I tap out a response after a few slightly baffled moments sat staring at the image, trying to decipher _why_ he’d send this. 

To **Eren** :  
_Wtf?_

My phone buzzes almost instantly. The excitable little brat probably had this prepared to send after sending the first one, the adorable idiot. 

From **Eren** :  
_It must be so tyre-ing and exhaust-ing working there! :D_

I half contemplate not even dignifying his moronic joke with a response, but I did actually find it quite amusing, so I allow him this one small victory. He’s been earning them on an ever-increasing basis lately. 

To **Eren** :  
_Moron_.

From **Eren** :  
_Your moron xx_

I put my phone away with a smile on my face as my piping hot Panini arrives; it smells pretty good despite having no idea what’s in it. It looks like ham and cheese. Not complaints here. 

A few bites in, my phone buzzes again and I don’t get a chance to look at it as I’m suddenly joined by an all too familiar, hatted asshole. Not a literal asshole in a hat but still pretty fucking close. The mental images however are a work of art. I don’t acknowledge his arrival. I have no interest in anything his asshat has to say. Ha, asshat. I get it. _That phrase makes so much more sense now_. 

“Good afternoon, Levi” his voice was as scratchy as ever. Like nails to a blackboard. I ignore him.

“He wants you back…” he starts. I take another munch of my Panini and check that message on my phone. Its just Hange sending me another shitty science pun related to her current project. I allow myself a little grin. Sodium. It’s assault. Ha. A salt. I love that little chemistry cat meme. I tap out a response to Hange. 

To **Shitty Glasses** :  
_Hey loser, I heard Oxygen and Magnesium are dating, I was like OMG!_

“He’s adamant that it be _you_ this time, Levi. I understand you’ve been out of commission for a while now, but you’re still the best we know,” he continued as I receive a response from Hange. I do my best to ignore the putrid scent emanating from his direction. 

**New Message**  
From **Shitty Glasses** :  
_Ha! See, u ARE funny!_

“We’ve trained a few new sous chefs up since you left, so you’d be working alongside some of the industry’s finest. The job would only be for three weeks, and then I’ll respect your choice to stay out of the _catering_ business for good.” The way he drawled those words, I knew exactly what he was talking about. I finally gave in to put a stop to his bullshit. I leant close across the table and snarled at him quietly.

“This isn’t a fucking _pastry class_ we’re talking about” I looked around before continuing. It was fairly quiet in the café today “this is fucking _Shift_. You don’t just fucking _whip up a batch_ like a fucking pan of cookies. That shit takes time, and how do I know you’ll have decent quality chemicals?” 

“This is precisely why I need your help, Levi. All the cooks these days are so impatient and too focused on the money. They let greed take priority over quality. You however, _have integrity_.” The way he oozed those last few words were about as elegant as the slime trail from a slug. It gave me Goosebumps just listening to it. 

“Yeah and I’d like to keep it by staying the fuck out of a drug lab ever again” I glared at him acrimoniously “Do I need to remind you what that shit did to me?” I could feel an all too familiar itch on my arms and my thighs. I hadn’t felt that in years and it felt magnified tenfold as the memories re-surfaced. 

Kenny paused and glanced at my un-touched croissant. I glared back at him, challenging him to fucking _try_. He can fuck right off, the wanker. 

“Well I’m afraid my boss isn’t prepared to take ‘no’ for an answer.” He tells me with a cold tone. 

“Well he can go fuck himself, _I’m not fucking doing it_ ,” I snapped, perhaps a little louder than initially intended. A couple of heads at nearby tables turned in our direction but I ducked my head and they seemed to return to whatever it was they were doing before I interrupted. 

Kenny’s tone of voice dropped into something a little more threatening, a low growl even. His eyes darkened and he took his hat off, staring at me pointedly. 

“I can guarantee your own safety, due to your value to our client. However as you are well aware I will not be hesitant from using my own powers of _persuasion_ to have you comply.” 

“Is that a _threat_?” I growl back at him. 

“Call it what you will.” He said whimsically, turning his hand around in light gesticulation. 

“I wouldn’t step the fuck into a kitchen again if I was the last fucking man on earth. Go crawl back into whatever revolting cesspit you crawled out of and leave me the fuck alone. Get. Someone. _Else_ ” 

“Well…” he stood, settling his hat back onto his head with a smooth motion. “I’ll give you a few days to decide before I start taking matters into my own hands” 

“Fuck you.” 

\--- 

I find myself back in Erwin’s office the next morning, pacing. This is becoming an unfortunately increasing occurrence. I don’t know what’s worse, having to talk to him because of Kenny or having to be in the same room as those revolting lime green crisps he likes munching like cattle does grass. 

“Fuck. If there’s one thing Kenny is good for its his fucking word. How the hell am I supposed to get out of this one? You know as well as I do that asshole won’t stop until he’s got what he wants.”

“You mentioned he was threatening someone. Someone close to you most likely?” Erwin asked in that irritatingly calm voice of his. 

“Yeah probably, how the hell am I supposed to not pull Eren into this shitfest?” 

“Eren?” Erwin perked an eyebrow. 

“Ah, Shit.” I mumbled, I hadn’t told him about the divorce yet. Or Eren. For being my direct report or line manager, we didn’t exactly make much conscious effort to keep in touch, despite working in the same building. Aside from the odd phone call or email with reports, we don’t really speak outside of work. I suppose it’s to be expected when I work at the bottom and he’s at the top. Literally speaking. I suppose it’s better late than never as they say. 

“Yeah, I’m getting a divorce and I’ve currently been dating someone for the last few months. Eren Yeager, he works here.” 

His icy blue eyes widen fractionally and he rubs his chin slowly “The name sounds familiar. Ah, that’s right. Yeager. The building’s Head of Operations’ son.” 

“The what now?” 

“Yes, we go back a little ways and he mentioned pulling a few strings with the higher ups in the research labs into getting Eren, was it? a job here following his internship he did last year.” 

Huh. So that’s who his father is. He said he worked here, but I didn’t know it was _him_. Shrugging it off I returned Erwin’s attention back to the important issue at hand. With the amount of time we’d been spending practically fused at the hip, Kenny could only mean Eren as someone close to me. It was so blatantly obvious it was sickening. 

“So how would you like me to help, Levi?” Erwin asked after polishing off his last crisp. 

“I need you to send Eren on that trip to New York this weekend.” 

“The third quarter Research conference?” 

“It’s an open event, right? He’d learn shit for his new job?” 

“Hm.” Erwin picked his phone up and dialled a couple of numbers. He paused and smiled once he was put through, continuing in his smoothest, ovary-melting voice. “Yes, hello Marco, how is Jean getting along in sales?” he laughed a little too cheerily to be genuine “Yes, yes. That’s right, Mike is fine too. Listen Marco; I need you to arrange a ticket and flights to the annual conference. Yes. That’s the one. The employee’s number is two seven four, eight double nine.” Erwin looks at me as he says it and I nod, just to confirm. 

I take a moment to look around his office, running my hands through my hair and throwing my head back against the chair, waiting for him to finish his little chipper conversation. 

“Uhuh, that’s right, Mister Yeager. I’ll forward you the details now.” He taps at his computer for a moment “I’ve just pinged it over now with all the employee details. Keep an eye out for another email in about ten minutes or so. This won’t be the first one. Thank you Marco, have a lovely- yes that’s right, Eren. You know him, correct?” He laughs, and I roll my eyes. “Alright thank you Marco, buh-bye.” 

He turns to me, folding his arms atop his desk. “Consider it done. He flies out tomorrow morning and returns Tuesday afternoon.” I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding in and rub my eyes before letting out a loud exhale. 

“I’ll send along some of the other junior lab assistants too, just so it doesn’t seem so out of the blue.” He informs me. Seems sensible, so I nod in agreement. 

“Makes sense.” 

“Glad I could help.” He says as I get up to leave. I rest my hand on the door handle and pause, looking at it blankly. I don’t turn to look at him, but I do speak loud enough for him to hear. 

“You’ve literally saved my skin more times than I’m proud enough to admit, but Erwin?” he looks at me, as I turn to look over my shoulder, seemingly surprised by the sudden praise “Thank you. For _everything_ ” 

He knew exactly what I meant and I didn’t need to say more. He had my back, and for that, I was grateful. 

I trusted him implicitly. 

\--- 

Just before Eren and I met up in the lobby before heading out to lunch, I’d arrived a little bit early so sat myself down on the sofas beneath the large Sina logo near the door and the nondescript, modern foyer plants and ornaments. The elevators ding open across the foyer and I look up, only to see Eren practically sprinting over to me, fumbling with the security gate and basically crying a fucking river. He didn’t look upset though.

“What’s got into you?” I asked, knowing full well the answer, as he rested his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a quick hug. 

“Guess what!” he positively beamed. “Guess what guess what!!” he persisted, prodding me irritatingly. 

I didn’t respond. I just gave him a glare telling him to hurry the fuck up and tell me. 

“I’m going to New York!”

“Huh. Is that so?” I smiled to myself, knowing it would get him out of harm’s way for when I declined Kenny’s offer. No is simply the only answer I’m prepared to give him. I’d never give him the satisfaction of threatening me into anything again. That piece of shit doesn’t hold any power over me. Or so I tell myself repeatedly. My new mantra. 

“Yeah, they said as one of their most promising new technicians, they wanted me to experience this scientific medical research convention in New York. I fly out. Tomorrow!” he wiggled his hands together like Wallace would as if talking about cheese and hopped on the spot like an excited toddler. It was pretty fucking cute.

“Gotta love how much notice this place gives you” I scoff sarcastically. 

“Oh, shit! I gotta pack when I get home!” 

“That would usually help.” I chuckle softly at his excitement, genuinely pleased and excited for him for reasons more than he’s aware of. 

I looked out into the overcast, windy looking outsides and took Eren’s hand in my own. “Let’s eat at the cafeteria today. I don’t feel like going out” 

“Are you sure you won’t die without your teapot and croissant?” he snickered mischievously as he leaned in closer, trying to link hands with me. I hadn’t a clue if Kenny had men watching, so I stood aside and left him hanging. I brushed him off with a typical bristly response. 

“I’d rather not have to end up looking like a fucking drowned rat, so shut the fuck up and let’s eat.” 

\--- 

Give it a couple days and it’s a gloriously sunny, beautiful day and I’m stuck in traffic driving to work. Ugh. At least Eren will be home tonight. I’ve been feeling a bit tense trying to avoid him having his knees kicked in all fucking week. Being paranoid is hard work. 

I get to work and descend to the seventh ring of hell, arriving suited and booted, bang on time as per usual. 

A few hours into my shift Hange is busy slating me for not wanting to go to the company Halloween party when the lab phone rings. My arms are elbow deep into a containment unit full of growing deadly baby microbes, so Hange gets it. 

“Uhuh, yes. May I ask what it is regarding?” she asks before pausing to turn and look at me. 

“Hey Levi you got a call!” If only life were that fucking easy. I groan in complaint. God, stop fucking hating me, what the fuck did I ever do to you?

“Can’t you tell them to piss off?” I call across the lab, quietly hoping to myself that whoever is on the other line can hear my frustration. 

“Take the call, Levi” Hange seems more serious than usual, which is weird, so I set my things that I’m working on down and extract my arms from the gloves to cross the lab to pick up the sterilised phone. On the other end is the receptionist from upstairs telling me I’ve got a phone call from a police officer and that she’ll patch me through. As the phone clicks and she puts me through I can’t help but swallow a lump in my throat. What if it’s about Kenny? Or my past? _Fuck_. Calm your tits, Levi it’s probably nothing. The line clears and I hear, to my surprise, a soft female voice on the other end of the line. 

“Hello, this is Officer Carolina. Am I speaking to Mister Ackerman?”

“Uh, This is he.” 

“I’m calling about your wife, Petra Ackerman. She’s been involved in an incident.” All of the blood drains from my face and I barely manage a response, going completely quiet for a moment. 

“A-an incident? What sort of incident? Is she there, can I talk to her?” I say. My stutter doesn’t go unmissed by Hange and Moblit who turn their somewhat concerned gazes towards me. The officer on the line pauses before carrying on. 

“I feel that this would be better discussed in person. If you could come down to the station as soon as possible that would probably be for the best.” There’s an ominous seriousness to her tone of voice so all I can do is hum an agreement. 

“I’ll head over now” 

“What was that about, honey?” Hange said as she slowly walked towards me, concern written all over her face as I slowly set the phone back on the hook. 

“Uh, I have to go. Petra’s been involved with something with the police, they didn’t tell me what, or let me speak to her” 

“No worries Hun, call me when you’re done okay? I’ll take care of everything here.” 

“Thanks, Zoe” I tell her. It’s rare I use her first name, but I make sure to do so on this occasion to express my gratitude for allowing me to slip out early. 

I hurry out of my gloves and mask as I make my way out of the lab. My shower afterwards is in a record time of one minute to the dot, and I’m clothed and dry in less than five minutes, leaving my hair wet as I walk to the elevator. As soon as the lift reaches the ground floor (and to the kingdom of phone signal) I whip out my phone and send a quick text to Eren, following his most recent one telling me he’s almost back in the country. 

To **Eren** :  
_Something’s come up with Petra. Might have to cancel tonight. Rain check? X_

I tuck my phone back into my pocket as I leave the building and walk briskly over to my car. I take the brief pause between starting the engine and buckling up to check my phone as it buzzes. 

**New Message**  
From **Eren** :  
_Np babe. Is everythin ok? xx_

To **Eren** :  
_Dunno, I’ll call as soon as I know. X_

A short ten-minute drive later and I pull up in my little green car and find a parking spot outside the old building. It looks like one of those old buildings you’d expect to have a courthouse in, since it’s so old. Inside the whole place is decked out with well-used old dark stained wood and is a hive of activity. It sort of smells like an old library or schoolhouse with a thin layer of dust having collected on a lot of the intricate wooden skirts and decorations attached to the walls. 

I approach the desk and eye the lanky man’s name badge. ‘Freudenberg’. He’s got a stupid looking bowl cut hairstyle and is currently being teased by some obnoxious dirty blonde who’s name tag reads ‘Dreyse’ from across the small office behind the glass. 

I clear my throat to get their attention. “I had a call from Officer. Uh. Caroline?” 

“Ah, Mina’s…” the blonde’s face fell and she mouthed what looked like ‘oh shit’ under her breath. Now I was fucking getting worried. What the fuck was so fucking awful? Bowlcut boy picked up a phone, dialled a few numbers, waited and said something about a man waiting in the lobby. He gave me a pointed look and I filled in the blank for him. “Mr Ackerman” I said. He repeated the information, nodded and hung up before turning back to me. 

“She’ll be right down, please take a seat” 

I didn’t sit. I couldn’t. My mind was swirling with all of the possibilities that Petra could have gotten herself into. That woman would yell at me for killing spiders, claiming there was a more ‘humane’ way to simply cup and paper them, letting them live to see another day. That sweetheart couldn’t get into trouble if she tried. She did have a fiery temper though when she wanted to. Maybe she snapped at someone again and they actually called the cops on her. Yeah, maybe that was it. 

“Mr Ackerman?” the smooth female voice emerged from behind me. Matching it to her face was strange. She didn’t look like someone who would work as a police officer. She was average height and build with a sweet, young-looking face. She couldn’t have been older than Eren at first glance, but upon closer inspection it would seem she were probably younger. 

“Yeah, that’s me” 

“Follow me, please.” So I did. They took me back through the halls a short way into an office that seemed to belong to the main brass. The plaque on the door read ‘N. Dawk, Head of Department, Rose PD”. 

I carefully walked in and the man behind the desk stood up and moved to the front of the desk, instantly indicating the sofa behind me against the wall. 

“Good afternoon, Mr Ackerman. I’m Nile Dawk, please do make yourself comfort-”

“Where’s Petra?” I cut him off. I was sick of fucking waiting. 

He exchanged a glance with the Carolina woman and nodded for us both to sit down after the door was gently closed. The man was steeling himself for something and I was starting to feel fear of the worst. What if a car hit her? Then surely I’d be called by the hospital? _Fuck_. 

He leant forward slightly as he took his seat, tentatively resting his elbows on his knees. 

“She was on her way to her parent’s when it happened.” I quietly listened despite the anger prickling at the back of my neck. 

“There was a drive-by shooting.”


	10. ...When It's Raining

You know that moment in the Simpsons when Bart shows Lisa the moment where he pinpoints the exact moment that Ralph’s heart rips in half? This was my moment. The world came to a halt as if that spiky-haired snot-nosed brat put me on pause too. I tried to ask the officers about Petra but all that came out was a choked, disbelieving cough. 

“She was fatally wounded from multiple gunshots. She didn’t make it long enough for the paramedics to arrive. For what it’s worth, it was quick.” Dawk added compassionately. Tears were prickling at the corners of my eyes as he explained, knowing full well what the outcome was before he’d even finished. By the time he’d said the words and confirmed my worst fears, the water was streaming from my eyes. 

I sat blankly back against the sofa and the Carolina woman offered me a tissue, which I ignored. In response she simply placed a hand on my shoulder and gently rubbed it. I appreciated the gesture, but it did nothing to comfort me. The tears were streaking my face and dampening my shirt but I couldn’t care less. The officers gave me a moment before the Nile guy spoke up again, softly. 

“We’re doing everything we can to catch whoever did this, Mr Ackerman. I assure you we won’t rest until we’ve got them behind bars.” A well rehearsed and repeated line, void of any true emotion. 

“That won’t fucking bring her back, though!” I cried, pushing the girl’s hand off my arm and standing up abruptly. Petra wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be. Who the fuck would- 

If my heart split into two and almost stopped at hearing the news, then the sudden realisation that hit me shattered the rest of the pieces into oblivion. Who fucking else? _Kenny_. I didn’t take up his fucking job and just as he said… He’d persuade me by using his own means. I should have known that killing my loved ones wouldn’t be beneath him. 

“Fuck!” I yelled before slumping back against the office wall, unsettling a plaque of some sort as I crumpled to my knees in front of the two. I appreciate that they gave me my space at this moment in time, allowing me the moment to let it truly sink in. At least enough to act reasonably again. 

“Is there anyone you’d like us to call?” the woman offered, and my mind instantly went to “Eren”. 

“Sorry?” she said. 

I fumbled for my phone and pulled up Eren’s number, handing it over to her she nodded in understanding before pressing the dial tone. In the meantime I just sat with my back against the wall and my head against my knees, sobbing. 

\---

**Eren**

Ah, Levi’s calling. He must have found out what’s up with Petra. 

“Hey babe, what’s up?” 

“Good afternoon, my name is Mina Carolina. I’m an officer here at the Rose precinct.” I suddenly felt like an idiot for greeting a police officer with ‘babe’. Cringing aside, I responded quickly.

“Is something wrong? Where’s Levi?” 

“He’s here at the precinct. I was simply calling to ask if you would be available to come down to see him home.” 

“I’ll be right there! Tell him I’m on my way” and I hung up. 

Sometimes I wish I had a car. This would be so much easier if I didn’t have to catch a bus. The trip was fairly simple and yet that short twenty-minute trip from door to door felt like an eternity. Whatever Levi’s news was had to be pretty bad but I didn’t allow my thoughts to stray to worst-case scenarios.  
I couldn’t afford to, not now, not yet. 

There was a pretty brunette in a uniform practically waiting for me at the entrance to the reception and she immediately escorted me further back into the building. I took a deep breath and she lined me up with a door to an office. I thanked her and slowly knocked on the door before pushing my way in. My heart sank when I saw Levi curled up on the sofa with a tear-streaked face, eyes clenched shut. 

“Levi?” I started quietly. He didn’t move at first so I sat on the floor in front of him to get as close as possible. “Levi its Eren. I’m here.” He responded quickly to that, barely sitting up and wrapping his arms around my neck so tightly it could have snapped. I wrapped my arms around his back and just held him as he sobbed into my shirt. It was so strange seeing the usually stoic and stable Levi falling apart in my arms. 

“She’s gone” he muffled into my sweater, which was now collecting tears. Gone where? “She’s fucking dead, Eren” he cried into the crook of my neck, his voice rough and dry. 

When my mum died, I had to be the strong one for my younger sister, so this situation wasn’t too far from what I knew. It wasn’t quite as personal, having not known her very well, but she was important to Levi and Levi was important to me, so it was still equally as devastating to hear. 

“Hey, it’ll be okay, Levi. Trust me.” I rubbed his back as he exhausted the rest of his energy and tears. I could tell he’d been crying for a while now, as his eyes were practically raw and difficult to keep open. Another symptom I was familiar with, having seen my sister go through the same all those years ago. 

“C’mon, Levi. I’ll take you home.” He quietly got up, emotionally exhausted with grief. He hung his head and took hold of my hand with both of his, leaning his body against mine as we made our way out of the room. “Thank you” I said to the man waiting outside, probably for his office back. 

“I’ll call you if we hear anything.” He said. 

“Thanks” 

I gently eased Levi into his car and he pulled his legs up against his chest. I briefly wondered where the best place to go would be. His house would surely have a lot of painful memories, so I started towards my own apartment.

He must have fallen asleep on the way home, because his knees sagged to the side and his head slumped forwards with his eyes shut. I carefully got out and opened his side, unbuckling his seatbelt and lifting him carefully into my arms and carrying him upstairs to my flat. _For someone this short he sure is heavy._

I settled him down into my bed after removing his shoes and coat and tucked him in. He rolled over and faced the wall, pulling my wrist over the top of him. I scooted below the sheets as well, wrapping a protective arm around his waist. The death grip he held on my wrist, silently ensuring I didn’t leave, didn’t ease until his breathing evened out into one of reasonably peaceful slumber. 

This was going to be a tough ride, but I was determined to be there for him. 

No matter what. 

\--- 

**Levi**

When I woke the next day, my eyes felt dry from all the tears and my whole body was stiff. I could feel Eren’s arm around me and his soft, even breath on my neck and as I turned onto my back he stirred from his sleep. 

My current thought pattern wasn’t exactly the average of a grieving husband or of someone who’s lost a loved one. I’m not grieving, I’m not mourning, I’m fucking _furious_. I’ll strangle that ugly bastard myself and gouge his fucking beady eyes out the next time that fucker comes anywhere near me. 

I turned to lie on my back and stare at the ceiling, silently plotting how to sink my thumbs into his eye sockets. I tilted my head to the side and my eyes meet Eren’s, which are still hazy from sleep. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Like shit.” 

“Shall I call work for you and let them know you won’t be in today?” 

“No need.” I stated firmly. 

“Levi. I don’t think-”

“I’m fine!” I snapped loudly, but instantly regretted it when I saw the slight hurt in Eren’s green eyes. “Sorry. I’ll be okay. I promise” I attempt to reassure him, leaning over to place a kiss on his forehead. “Thank you for coming yesterday.” 

He ran a hand through his messy bed hair and sighed. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to go to work today? I’m sure they’ll understand…” he tried to reason as we both shuffled into a seated position. 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” 

He frowns but makes no attempt to stop me getting off the bed. 

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” I said, with a tone of finality. “I need a shower.” 

\--- 

Eren wasn’t too happy with me coming into work today, and he said he’d meet me for lunch and we’d go down to Maria’s if I wanted, his treat. He made me breakfast too, which was sweet of him. I know he’s just trying to make me feel better, and I really appreciate it, but I have another agenda on my to-do list today. 

The grief can wait. I’ll expend however much energy it fucking takes to subdue it, no matter how cold I become.

I made my way up the fancy glass elevator again and found myself sat in Erwin’s office whilst he was on his lunch. He’d probably request to be buried alongside his pickled onion munchables. I gave him the general update on Kenny’s threat and Petra’s death. 

I could mourn her later. Right now I wanted revenge. 

“Come back at four, I’ll make some phone calls.” He told me. Erwin and his fucking phone calls. Is there anyone that man doesn’t know? 

Anyway, before I know it, it’s four and I’m back in his office and there’s a tall blonde man with a massive honker stood next to his desk, overlooking something on Erwin’s phone. They both looked up when I entered. 

“Ah, Levi. You’re back.” To which I nod. Thanks for stating the obvious.

“You remember Mike, right?” I turn to look at the blonde. I nod again. It’s his husband from what I can recall. 

“Take a seat. We’ve got something to discuss with you.” 

“What?” _How does this relate to Kenny_? I find myself thinking. 

“Did I ever tell you what Mike does for a living?” He knows he never told me. Why fucking ask?

“You know you didn’t. Get to the point, eyebrows.” I deadpan. 

“Anyway, Mike works for the Bureau of Drug Enforcement.” 

“So he’s a cop?” It’s not a question. “When were you planning on telling me this piece of information?” I ask. 

“When the time was right.” 

“So what happens now?” I asked, cautiously eyeing Mike who was just looking at me with a disinterested expression. Erwin no doubt told his husband of my past and my involvement with Kenny’s ‘associates’ from ten years ago. Mike is next to speak.

“Levi, I’m well aware of your background” _I knew it. What the hell are you thinking, Erwin?_ “I also know about your recent liaisons with your Uncle, Kenneth Ackerman.” When I don’t respond he continues carefully. “I’d like you to take his offer.” 

“The _fuck_?!” I yell the last word as I stand up with enough force to almost tip the chair I’m sat on. 

“Hear me out, Levi-”

“Seriously what the flying fuck do you take me for? A fucking idiot?” How _dare_ he?. 

“Levi” Erwin’s commanding tone forces me to sit back down, with a lethal scowl on my face.

“We have been well aware of Kenny’s activity in the regional drug trade for the last decade. It is to our understanding he is taking orders from a higher up.” 

“And? This is practically public knowledge.” 

“We have a man on the inside of his circle of henchmen.” 

“So what the fuck do you need me to synthesise that shit for? You have a man on the inside, expose the head yourself.” 

“Whoever Kenny reports to, being this mysterious head-honcho, he doesn’t make appearances. Ever. Any man we’ve smuggled inside his circle in the last ten years, no one has ever even _seen_ the guy, and if they had, they’re currently dead.”

“What makes you think he’ll even meet with me? Or let me live afterwards?” 

“You’re the only person who can make it at 100% purity, having invented it?” _He’s got a point_. A pretty good point, actually. 

“Huh.” 

“You’re our closest possible lead, Levi.” Mike implored. 

I sank into my seat and scowled, rubbing my hands against my eyes in frustration. 

“You realise what you’re asking me to do, right?” I glared at Mike deliberately. “It will be a tight knit operation. Like hell are they going to let me know where this fucking lab is. If they still run the same way, they move after every three-week operation. They’ll probably strip search me and I wouldn’t put it past him to knock me out for the trip and have me wake up in some fucking filthy laboratory like some shitty slasher flick. It’s not like you can put a wire on me, or a tracker. If you don’t know where the fuck I am, how the _fuck_ are you going to _cover_ me?” I asked sceptically. There were a million questions I wanted answered, but Mike’s response was a simple one. So simple it infuriated me further.

“Leave that to us, Levi. As long as you don’t do anything stupid, you’ll be fine.” Mike smiled a slightly unnervingly confident smile. I turned to Erwin with a look of exasperated disbelief on my face.

“And you trust this geezer?” I asked. Erwin simply nodded and said yes. 

I groaned loudly and threw my head back against the back of the chair, carding my hands through my hair and stretching my legs out. “Fuck!” 

The air grew a little bit tense as they waited for my reply and by now I didn’t exactly feel as if I had a choice. I had an opportunity to nail both Kenny and the motherfucker he worked for. I reluctantly mumbled my response through gritted teeth. 

“What was that, Levi?” Erwin asked, as if reprimanding me for not speaking up or saying my fucking pleases and thank yous. 

“Fine! I’ll fucking do it! Jesus!”

There goes one of Erwin’s desk ornaments. 

Right out the fucking window. 

\--- 

I take the opportunity after leaving Erwin’s office to storm down to Maria’s and sit at a table. As fully expected, Kenny shows his face not ten minutes later and I stand up before he has a chance to join me. I make pointed eye contact with him and gesture for him to follow me outside, which he does. 

Once outside, I pull out my usually un-touched cigarettes and light one up, taking a deep inhale and holding my breath for a short moment before blowing it out in Kenny’s direction. 

“Three weeks, right?” 

“Correct. Providing we don’t encounter any delays.” he replied, eyeing me like a lion watches a zebra as I took another long breath of smoke.

“I’ve got one condition.” 

Kenny perked an eyebrow, as if to ask if I had the audacity to ask such a nonsensical thing. 

“I’m meeting the asshole you work for.” 

He paused and sucked his teeth, clearly thinking about it. He pulled his phone out and tapped out a text and sent it whilst I patiently drew from my cigarette once more. Almost instantly he got a reply and turned back to look at me as he slipped it back into the inner pocket of his coat. 

“It will be a pleasure working with you again, Levi. We’ll be in touch with travel arrangements.” 

As soon as it was said, I nodded just barely and turned on my heel to head back to work, finishing off my cigarette as I left. Kenny soon called over my shoulder as I began walking away.

“And if anyone finds out about this, you can count on my next ‘warning’ being a little more _dear_ to you.” 

I gritted my teeth and kept walking, offering him a choice finger as I left.


	11. Life Will Be Forever Autumn...

Eren adjusted my black tie for me as we stood in my bedroom beside the wardrobe. I’d stayed at Eren’s for the first few nights, but eventually the time called to pick up some essentials, like my suitcase, which contained clean boxers and socks. I figured I’d pick up my five boxes too, and just leave them in the car, that way nothing of mine was at Petra’s house. 

Eren frowned glumly and rested a hand on my cheek, which I couldn’t help but lean into. I didn’t feel like much more physical contact than that at the moment and I could tell he just wanted to wrap his arms around me, so I took hold of his hand to give the top of it a quick peck before moving over to the bathroom to brush my teeth. 

“We’d better get going, Eren.” I say once finished and flossed. 

“Yeah, we don’t want to be late.” I declared solemnly. 

We made our way out in our black suits and out into the autumn air to the car. Eren asked if I wanted him to drive instead and I declined his offer. I wasn’t as precious and fragile as he thought. I’d had a lot of deaths in my life, most before I was even old enough to drive. He wasn’t to know that though, so I divulged his occasional offers to help me with things and vowed I’d eventually tell him about my past. He deserved to know, after all. 

I drove us up to the funeral home where the hearse was already in place out front. The location was picturesque with all of the trees nearby starting to turn. Ironic, since autumn was Petra’s favourite season. I’d proposed to her at an arboretum in fall, surrounded by red and orange trees, like her hair.

It was a beautiful arrangement and service. Petra’s family were as tasteful and modest as she was. The flowers weren’t overbearing, although there was a grand bouquet at the front of the room, which the family had ordered on my behalf. I have to admit, for all our issues, it was a touching and beautiful display. The service was just as simple as the décor, delicate and sweet, just like her. 

There weren’t too many words said and as they allowed us to place flowers aside her coffin, which was stood atop a small conveyor leading into the crematorium’s back rooms, curtained off of couse, they played one of Petra’s favourite songs. I instantly recognised it and my heart clenched when the first few notes started to play. There were a lot of memories lacing this particular song, but there it was. I’d grit my teeth and bear it. I had to stray strong during this. If I cried now I feared I may never stop. It didn’t help that there were sobs coming from every corner of the room. 

_All our times have come. Here, but now they’re gone…_

The immediate family stand first, one by one moving up into a small line to say their goodbyes. 

_Seasons don’t fear the reaper, nor do the wind, the sun or the rain…_

Her father, mother, siblings, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, clients, and people she’d barely even met went up one by one and some in pairs. Some sobbing, others indifferent. 

_We can be like they are… come on baby…_ Don’t fear the reaper, baby take my hand… 

She had touched the lives of so many in her short twenty-five years. 

_Don’t fear the reaper, we’ll be able to fly…_

Once everyone had taken their seats, Eren gently squeezed my hand and looked at me compassionately and with admirable patience. 

_Don’t fear the reaper, baby I’m your man._

The guilt was eating me alive. Everyone in this room had had their lives changed for the worse, all because of me. _‘It should be me in that coffin’_ I thought bitterly. Sensing my distress, Eren joined me with an arm around my shoulder as we approached the coffin, gently taking a white rose each from the pile provided and placing them atop the rest. “I’m sorry, Petra.” I whispered as I placed a hand briefly on the corner of the polished wood. 

Eren guided me back to my seat where I spent the remainder of the service in a dull numbness, choosing to be unaware of my surroundings and clouded by my own self-furious thoughts. In this state Eren easily guided me, and he drove me straight back to his apartment once he’d said our goodbyes to the other mourners on my behalf. 

He sat me on his sofa and disappeared to the kitchen, returning five minutes later with a teapot and two cups. He set the pot down and let it infuse as he scooted over and held me against his warm chest. 

“Its all my fault” I attempted to say, but my voice broke. 

“Huh?” 

I repeated myself with more clarity in my voice but Eren still looked confused.

“It wasn’t your-”

“I’m why she’s dead!” I almost shouted. Eren’s grip around me tightened and he whispered into my ear.

“Shh, you couldn’t have known this would happen.” 

I pushed him away from me somewhat harshly, having heard enough. I was furious at myself. “That’s the problem, Eren! I knew exactly what would happen but I didn’t fucking see that Petra was at risk whilst I was too busy having Erwin send _you_ to New York!” 

Eren’s brows knitted and he looked at me through concerned eyes. “What are you talking about, Levi?” he asked, caution and apprehension lacing his tone of voice.

“He said he’d take things into his own hands if I told him no.” 

“Huh? Who did?” 

“Some asshole.” 

“What’s he got to do with Petra?”

“Everything!” I bawled.

“Easy, Levi. Calm down…” I desperately gripped his shirt and pulled myself close to him, holding on for dear life. He rubbed calming circles into the backs of my shoulder blades and waited for me to collect myself, only stopping once my breathing had slowed significantly. It felt like we were sat there for a good ten minutes, not saying a word as I silently sobbed into his shoulder. 

He slowly released me and poured me a cup of tea. I thanked him, not making eye contact, and took a sip from my now hot but cool enough to drink tea. I winced as I realised he’d made my favourite: red bush. Just like Petra used to. 

“When my mum died, I thought I’d never be able to get over it” Eren offered. I could sense that he was trying to be positive. “But it gets easier. Have you ever lost anyone before?” It’s ironic hearing him ask that, and I think bitterly of just how little he really knows about me.

“I know you’re just trying to make me see beyond what I’m feeling right now, but you don’t understand, Eren. She’s dead because of me and me only.” 

“You didn’t-”

I cut him off immediately by slamming my cup down on the table and getting up, walking briskly out and to the bedroom. My hand stung from where the tea had splashed over the rim and I quietly hissed in pain as I cradled my hand. Tact never was particularly my style, but I couldn’t care less. I didn’t want Eren trying to make me feel better when the whole reason Petra was gone was my fault. If I had just gone to the police or fuck, I don’t know – done the job, she’d still fucking be alive. 

Eren didn’t follow me, nor did I receive any visits to the bedroom for another few hours. In that time I settled on Eren’s bed and curled up facing the wall, hugging his pillow to my chest and taking what comfort I could from his scent that still lingered there. Having years of experience in bottling my feelings up, I decided for once to let it all go. I was beyond caring. I sobbed uncontrollably into Eren’s pillow for what could have been a good two hours, releasing years’ worth of un-shed tears. Every dead face I’d laid eyes on in my life flashed behind my eyelids as I convulsed in grief and regret, curled into a foetal position. 

I must have exhausted myself and dozed off at some point, because I was awoken to the click of the door and a creak in the floorboards as a single pair of footsteps slowly approached the bed in the dark room. The lights remained off and Eren made no attempt at opening the curtains, for which I was thankful. I kept my eyes closed and my body went a little bit stiff as I felt him sit down on the foot of the bed, being careful not to disturb me. He must have assumed I was asleep. 

“I’m sorry, Levi” he said, barely a whisper. 

“Don’t apologise, Eren.” I whispered back, my voice gruff.

He shuffled a little closer and lay down behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist. I appreciated that he didn’t seem to take my little outburst earlier personally. Hell, given the circumstances I felt it appropriate to not be too tightly strung together. I’d lost my best friend, and it was my fault. I felt fucking awful. 

“I suppose I owe you an explanation.” I admitted grimly. I wasn’t looking forward to what was about to come. My past was something I had thoroughly wanted to remain exactly that: in the past. 

“What do you mean, Levi?” I turned beneath his arm to look at him and from what I could tell in the dim light he was looking straight at me with clear-cut concern skittering across his expression and stilling his usually volatile green eyes. 

“I know who killed Petra,” I said. Eren sat up and I followed, crossing my legs and slumping against the wall. 

“Wait, what? Who was it?” 

“I… can’t say. I don’t know who did the shooting per se, but I know who damn well ordered it.” It was killing me keeping it all from Eren but I knew that the more information I willingly divulged, the more at risk I was putting him, and I was adamant on keeping him in the dark on things that would potentially risk his wellbeing or even his life. After all, I knew that murder wasn’t below Kenny.

“Fuck” I mumbled as I ran a hand through my hair, pushing my hair to one side and scratching at the side of my head through the fuzz of my undercut. 

“Why can’t you say? Could you tell the police?” Eren asked and I shook my head.

“I can’t.” I said through clenched teeth.

“Why not? Are you in some sort of trouble, Levi?” 

“Remember when I said that scar on my arm was from me being a shitty teenager?” 

“Yeah?” Eren seemed confused by the slight derailing of topic. “How does that relate to this?”

“The scar is from when my arm got infected after a bad hit.” 

Eren’s eyes widened slightly and he cast his gaze downwards toward my arm briefly whist absorbing the information. He looked back up and nodded in vague understanding. I wanted him to get the full picture to the best of my ability, without him learning anything he didn’t need to know that could hurt him. At the same time I wanted to arm him with whatever necessary to know what to expect. It was a tricky one, so I just played it by ear, more or less. 

“So I came from a pretty shit family, but despite that I did well in school. Particularly in maths and science. I was top of my class for pretty much every subject. Not popular, given my home-life with a meth junkie for a mother and no dad, but I didn’t care. Friends weren’t something that interested me.” 

“Anyway, after my mum finally OD’ed, her brother… my uncle, took me in when I was about fifteen.” Remember now, Levi. The less he knows the safer he will be. “He was an asshole.” 

“Oh” Eren frowned. 

“Anyway, he knew my particular enjoyment and academic excellence in the science classes and offered me a job helping with a local laboratory. I was desperate to get the fuck out of town, not wanting to turn out like my failure of a mother, so I took the job to hopefully earn enough money to save for a car. I was fourteen so it would only be a couple of years before I could get a license and start driving. I was so excited to be pursuing my dream job at such an early age. Not many fourteen year olds get laboratory jobs these days, what with it being illegal.” I added sarcastically.

“Turns out the laboratory I ended up working at during evenings and weekends was a meth lab.” I said dryly, almost laughing, to which Eren remained still, soaking in every piece of information. It was the first time I’d really opened up in any degree to anyone in the last ten years, so everything came out a little un-rehearsed and cautious. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t want to give away any names, locations or dates. The particular organisation I’d been part of had gained a notorious reputation for themselves in the last ten years, founded off of one shitty teenager creating a specific drug.

“My uncle was in the business of selling methamphetamine amongst other things. He was originally the person to get my mum into hard drugs, which ultimately killed her.” I couldn’t help but feel the sadness seeping through in my words, but it was quickly replaced with anger towards that selfish fucker. Screwing his own sister over for drug money. 

“I hated him for it, but I’d ended up getting in far too deep to be able to leave. I had produced a new drug which we ended up nicknaming Shift, because of how what you saw when you took it” Eren hummed slightly, as if he knew what I was talking about, he perked up a little upon hearing the drug’s name and seemed surprised.

“You invented Shift?” he asked. “As in that one that’s always in the news?” I nodded in response and carried on. 

“Yeah, although after my mum died I ended up pretty depressed so I started ‘testing’ the product out myself and stealing from my uncle to fuel my need for an escape or a release. I even tried to overdose a few times on purpose.” 

Eren listened quietly, looking focused and concerned. 

“It got to the point where I was failing to be even remotely subtle about my affiliations, and after a few run ins with the law, that was what landed me in rehab at eighteen, out of a court order.” Eren nodded and took hold of one of my hands, holding it in both. I couldn’t help but smile a little as I placed my free hand on top of his as he looked me straight in the eye to continue. I’d come this far with divulging what I could of my past, I may as well finish it off. 

“They had me on a thick cocktail of antidepressants when I was there, and it was hell. I racked up a few more suicide attempts while I was there but as you can see, failed miserably. I have twelve attempts on file in the five months I was there, and maybe another five attempts outside of that. I was fucking miserable.” 

“Anyway, I was _this_ close to being admitted to a psychiatric ward when Erwin met with me in rehab seemingly out of the blue – that’s from where I know him. It was weird getting a visitor. I was a just turned nineteen-year-old junkie with no friends or family aside from my asshole uncle. Then along comes this pristine, Ken-doll lookalike who owns X Y and Z and offers me a job in a real lab.”

“Did you take it?” Eren asked quietly.

“I told him to fuck off for the first five fucking times he asked. I’d heard that offer before. _Come and work for me in a lab, it’ll be good money and you’ll help a lot of people._ ” I grimaced as I recalled Kenny’s words to me when I was younger and more naïve. 

“Erwin’s a persistent bastard so he eventually bargained with me. If I’d put my “impressive chemistry skills” to use working for him on weekends, he’d personally fund my college education to gain the qualifications needed for a full time position.” 

Eren gasped slightly, looking wide-eyed. 

“Funny, that’s exactly my expression when he said that to me” I laughed a little, and Eren seemed to ease too realising that the heaviest part of my story seemed to have passed. _Little did he know_ , I thought bitterly.

“So yeah, I took that offer in the end and University was fucking epic. That’s where I met Hange and Petra. Although I did still have crippling depression and I did still have a residual dependence on the drugs. I tried hiding my injections from Erwin, who’d keep a close eye on me during my studies, so I would inject into the crease of my thigh instead so he couldn’t tell I’d been shooting again.” I say, as I point out the joint between my groin and thigh. 

“Anyway, I overdosed one more time just before my first year of finals and ended up coming out of the hospital and rehab six months later with a new cocktail of antidepressants and a fucked sperm count. I don’t know, something about that trip to rehab sunk in. I remembered why I wanted to work in a lab in the first place and why I was where I was. I came out with a sense of determination never to fuck with the stuff again and give my uncle the pleasure of me ending up like my mother.” 

“Did you ever relapse after that?” Eren asked.

“Not once.” I said honestly. Eren gave my hand a little squeeze and smiled at me. 

“That’s good to hear,” he whispered to which I gave a curt nod before continuing. 

“Anyway, after nearly dying I cleaned up my act and ended up with a degree a year early and a job at Sina. Sure it wasn’t exactly easy but I managed to keep my act clean. It took years to come down from the antidepressants and I’m pretty sure they are the reason I don’t work quite right in the ejaculation department” I shrug. “I’ve been off them for about a year now. How Petra dealt with me for so fucking long I don’t know. And the rest they say, is history.” 

Eren was looking down at our joint hands as he processed and tried to grasp at everything I’d just said. Not surprisingly, he seemed at a loss for words. 

“Wow” he eventually settled on. I laugh a little bit, realising how dry my throat was. I cough slightly and rub my chest and Eren leans across to the nightstand to hand me the bottle of water sat there. 

“Thanks” I said after a sip. 

Now to prepare for my returning debut. 

Fuck.


	12. ...'Cause You're Not Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Forever Autumn' - Justin Hayward.
> 
> The inspiration for this chapter and the last.

**Eren**

The next few weeks following the funeral, Levi seemed to slowly but surly turn inward on himself. He’d been signed off from work for two weeks following Petra’s funeral on bereavement and the entire time he’d spent more or less in my flat with Mikasa and I. He seemed more open with me since disclosing his past when it was just the two of us, but around others he withdrew and remained silent. Since Mikasa lived here too, the moments we had as just us two were limited to my bedroom or when Mikasa was out. 

He insisted on only taking a single week of his bereavement, claiming that was all the time he needed to get Petra’s things into order with co-operation from her family. He returned to work after that, as if nothing happened. The only difference being he wouldn’t ever smile. Not once. He severely blamed himself for her death and on multiple occasions Hange sent him home from work for having ‘episodes’. He’d just bottle everything up and then someone would say something minor and it would trigger all the rage he’d pent up and he’d lash out. 

It seemed appropriate that we have him signed off work for a little while longer until he’d mourned properly; else he would probably end up hurting someone, or what I was more concerned about; himself. We’d had a couple of arguments where he’d bite back when I tried helping him with something like unloading the dishwasher, so I’d left him to it and he would eventually calm down and come find me to apologise. I didn’t take it personally most of the time, as I knew what he was going through. I remember channelling my own grief into anger after mum died, so I understood.

I had managed to convince Levi to come to the SinaPharm lab staff’s Halloween party to hopefully distract him a little bit, although neither of us dressed up into any costumes. It was being held at a local bar just opposite from Duvar and Hange had showed up with Moblit, dressed as Frankenstein’s monster and Hange had painted herself from top to toe in blue body paint, complete with blue clothes and even electric blue mascara. She even had blue eyes and a blue tongue. 

I had no idea how she did it but they didn’t look like contact lenses and Levi actually laughed when she approached him. Well, it was more of a choke and a grumble, but it was the closest to a laugh than he’d come in a weeks. 

“Hange. Seriously.” He said, looking un-amused, if not a little exasperated by the apparent effort Hange had gone through to create her outfit. 

“You think I forgot about that little prank, huh?” she smirked proudly, resting her hands on her hips with Moblit sheepishly looking around behind her. I left them to talk, or more for Hange to talk at Levi while Moblit died of embarrassment, and a firm grip suddenly latched onto my arm. Surprised, I turned to see Levi staring at me with an unreadable expression. He looked almost angry, but I couldn’t place it. 

“Where are you going?” he asked. 

“Ow! Just to get a couple of drinks. Levi?” I winced at his death grip and he blinked, letting go instantly, looking worried. 

“Sorry” he mumbled under the volume of the music.

I turned to look around the room while I waited for our drinks to be made, and I spotted a trio enter. I didn’t recognise any of them as any of the scientists I worked with, or if they were even staff. It was hard to tell since they had neck-down morph suits on designed with patterns of human muscle. Their faces had been painted to match, too. It was pretty impressive. 

One of them was ridiculously tall and you could tell he’d pulled a bald cap on, having painted all over the top of his head to make it appear there were no skin. He was accompanied by a much shorter, bulkier male, who had short white-blonde cropped hair and an even shorter blonde woman who had the same makeup. They essentially looked like three people rocking up without skin on, and the makeup was amazing. 

My admiration was interrupted with the arrival of mine and Levi’s drinks, which I took with haste and returned. It wasn’t hard to find Levi in the mass of people around, since Hange was completely blue. She really stuck out, which was useful. 

Levi mainly kept to himself and didn’t want me to leave his side for most of the night. He did however keep looking at a trio from earlier who were bunched up in the corner of the room. They huddled close and also kept looking at Levi from time to time.

“Do you know them?” I asked. He shook his head. 

“No” he said, not once looking away from them. 

I had no idea what was going on, but I shrugged it off thinking absolutely nothing more of it and eventually Levi turned his attention back to me.

“Can we go?” he asked quietly. I nodded and said our goodbyes to everyone on his behalf whilst the music and booze increased in volume. We’re about to get into the car and Levi tugs on my hand, walking me up against the door and pressing his chest against mine, pulling my tie down so he can kiss me deeply. 

I sigh in relief at the contact; it’s been a while since he was particularly affectionate and I didn’t realise how much I’d been missing his touch until now. He pulled back and looked up at me, gently stroking my hair from my eyes. 

“Sorry I’ve been such an asshole lately.” 

“Don’t be.” 

He leant against my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around him protectively. “It’ll be okay,” I told him as I gently stroked his hair. “It gets easier”

“I hope it does,” he whispered against my chest. “I really fucking hope it does” 

We separate so we can begin to make our way home, it’s not particularly late as we didn’t stay very long, but I’m still finding myself feeling quite tired. I rest my hand on top of Levi’s as he drives, a habit I’d picked up ever since he took me out to the valley, and for the first time in weeks the air between us feels comfortable. 

“Eren?” Levi says as we take our shoes off. Mikasa shouts us a greeting from the end of the hall from presumably her bedroom. 

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna try going to work again tomorrow.” He said it slowly, as if being careful of how I may react. 

“You’ve been much better these last few days,” I decide to reassure him, as trying to dissuade him would only cause another argument. I can’t control his choices and if he wants to go, I’ll let him. “But if you start to feel upset, come home early, yeah?” I can’t help but to add. I still worry about him. 

“I will.” He leaned up onto his toes to give me a chaste kiss before taking my hand and leading us down to my room to sleep.

\--- 

The clock read 8:32pm the next day.

“Strange.” 

“What?” Mikasa asked me.

“Levi’s not back yet.” I shuffled uncomfortably on the sofa.

“Maybe there’s traffic.” Mikasa shrugged and returned to making dinner, so I resigned my concern for the time being. Maybe she was right. 

\--- 

It was almost ten and Levi still wasn’t back. 

I’d sent him a text and called about an hour ago but he’d not picked up. Mikasa managed to rationalise another few possible scenarios enough to ease me enough into falling asleep.

Perhaps he was running late, or his phone ran out of power. Perhaps. 

\--- 

The next morning I awoke with a gaping cold space of empty bed beside me and the crushing realisation hit me. 

Levi didn’t come home last night.

I asked Siri to “Call Levi” and I held the phone against my ear as I padded out from my bedroom in my t-shirt and boxers, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Mikasa looked up at me and obviously spotted the concern in my eyes as I stared blankly at my non-responsive phone. “He didn’t respond to any of my texts from last night. It’s just going straight to voicemail now.” 

“Hm.” She said and paused her breakfast prep. “You have work today right? Why not ask to see if anyone knows where he went? Could he have spent the night with a friend?” 

“He doesn’t really have any.” I say as a matter of fact. “Oh wait, maybe Hange or Mr Smith knows where he went.” 

“There you go.”

I swiftly returned to my room to get ready for work in record time, doing all of the bare minimums in my routine and even trying to skip breakfast until Mikasa cornered me at the front door with two slices of toast. I stuck them between my teeth, gave her a hurried hug and rushed out to the bus stop. I couldn’t help but worry, as time seemed to feel agonisingly slow as I wait for the bus. Today was ominously overcast and there was an uncomfortably heavy feeling in the air all around me. Maybe it wasn’t the air, but rather just me. 

Once I arrived at Sina, I weighed up my chances of getting down into the sub-basements to see Hange with my current security clearance and decided I’d have better chances seeing the CEO, as ridiculous as that sounded. My chances of either were pretty slim but at least seeing Erwin would only be a slim to none chance. Seeing Hange is a clear zero chance. 

After spending all of my lunch break making calls and sending emails, I am unable to get into contact with Erwin, Hange or anyone from Levi’s department. The last person that springs to mind is Dita Ness, who ran our induction and spoke with Levi in the lift that once. I asked myself what I had to lose and figure I’d go pay him a visit. It was a long shot, but I supposed worth checking. Levi was always reasonably communicative when it came to running late or changing plans, so I was worried about where he was. 

Dita ends up being on his day off today, so I run out of ideas and try to call Levi once more before my lunch break ends. “This is Levi. Leave a message.” _Beep!_ I toss my phone across my desk and groan loudly in frustration. _Where are you?_

The next few days were exactly the same. I woke up alone, rushed to work, asked around to find nothing followed by returning to the same empty bed. Even Mikasa started to look concerned. 

I stepped into the elevator from the eleventh floor to go up to check on Dita again, and it contained none other than Erwin Smith and Hange. The two people I’d been looking for all damn week. 

“Where’s Levi?” I asked them straight up, interrupting whatever conversation they may have been in the middle of. They exchanged a tense, sidelong glance to one another and I glared at them both, repeating my demand. “Where is he?” They both went rigidly silent for a long moment as the elevator chimed shut. Hange seemed to look at me sympathetically whereas Erwin’s cold blue, calculating eyes were not so subtly eyeing me from top to bottom, as if analysing me from the inside out. 

“We don’t know.” Erwin said after an agonisingly long, thoughtful pause. 

\--- 

I decided that after work, I’d go to Petra’s old house. Upon finding nothing there but an empty, locked house up for sale, I nervously headed over to the police station. I asked to file a missing person and they took a few basic details to ensure my report qualified, namely the forty-eight hour rule. Not too soon after, they lead me to a small room to ask a few questions and get the full story. I’d seen him last on Wednesday morning before work, my last text from him was from the same morning saying he’d arrived to work and that I hadn’t heard or seen from him since. That was five days ago. I didn’t want this to sink in. Levi couldn’t be a missing person. I refused to accept it. 

The officer taking the details thanked me and ensured me they would look into all of the places I said he might possibly have gone. He makes a phone call and asks if Levi had a car, to which I give him the registration number and the model. I tell him it’s a pretty easily recognisable car and the officer agrees. They’re not common, especially in Rose. He sets the phone down and looks up at me. 

“Well, it seems his car is at his place of work, in it’s designated spot.” 

“Huh? He’s at work?” 

“Well, his car is.” He paused. “For the man himself, I can’t say. We’ll keep looking into this for you Mr Yeager and call if we find anything.” 

I nodded and rushed out, heading over to work straight away. The staff parking lot just behind the building, why didn’t I think of looking there for his car? I ran past the barrier and slowed to a jog as I approached Levi’s parking space. To my relief, his car was sat there as normal. I leaned down to look into the window and nothing seemed out of place. The keys weren’t in the ignition and nothing smelled foul play. I turned on my heels and headed into the reception area at the front of the building, all but slamming my hands down onto the desk, instantly getting the receptionist’s attention. 

“Could you please call Levi Ackerman? It’s urgent” 

She seems startled but dials his extension onto a wireless handset and hands me the phone. It rings, and I’m greeted by “Gunter speaking, how can I help?” 

“Uh, is Levi there?” I ask.

“Who’s asking?” he asks cautiously, a hint of accusation in his voice. 

“Oh, it’s Eren. His boyfriend.” 

“Ah, _Eren_. The Turk he keeps talking about? He’s been AWOL all week. Have you heard from him?” I sigh miserably, despite feeling a fleeting elation knowing he’d been talking about me to his colleagues.

“I was hoping you would know. He’s not there with you? His car is still here.” 

Gunter simply explains the last time he saw him and that he left the lab that Wednesday. He assumed he was still struggling with Petra’s death so thought nothing of it. He mentioned how Levi said he was going to the bathroom and just didn’t come back, but nothing prior to that seemed particularly out of place. 

Worry didn’t even cover it. I was distraught. The police were taking their time, everyone at Sina was sending me through loops and I couldn’t help but fear the worst. What if he was just hiding his depression after the funeral and he went off to buy some Shift and overdosed or something? I couldn’t eat, I barely slept and I soon become easily irritated.

My mind spent the next two weeks festering in worst-case scenarios.


	13. If I Live To See...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Levi went...
> 
> Alternative Title: The World's Longest Shit

**Levi**

**THREE WEEKS AGO**

It was my first day back after a few weeks and it was just Eld, Gunter, Moblit and I in the lab for the moment, which offered us a brief respite from Hange’s eccentricities. Despite her absolute brilliance, it’s amazing how much work we all get done when she’s not here. As a team, minus Hange, we’re all pretty quiet individuals. We just get our heads down and get the fuck on with it. We don’t need words to get things done. That’s what hands and brain cells are for. 

My firm set concentration is uncouthly interrupted by the shrill of the lab phone. I'm gonna fucking unplug that thing one day.

The guys are busy, so I move over and look at the caller ID before picking it up. Hmm. Security never usually calls unless there’s been a breach somewhere, but the guys in decon haven’t triggered any alarms. 

“Levi speaking, what is it?” I greet whoever is on the other end of the line. I’m responded to with an unfamiliar male voice. 

“Your car will be out front in twenty minutes.” I glanced over my shoulder to the others in the lab before the voice continues, “Turn back around, idiot, and don’t draw attention to yourself or tell anyone you’re going. _We will know if you do_. Make an excuse to leave, and we will see you soon. Your co-operation is appreciated” the line cut out and I pulled the phone away from my ear half from confusion, thinking the line may have died and half out of contemplation as to who it could have been. 

There was no doubt in my mind however that it was the call summoning me to action Mike’s plan. I glanced up at the camera pointing not so anonymously in my direction and I knit my eyebrows together into a suspicious frown. How the hell will they know I’ve gone if I’m not able to tell them? I stare blankly at the phone for a moment as I mull it over. I’ll have to leave a message with one of the guys in the lab. It’s a damn shame Hange isn’t here because she’d understand me enough when I’m being cryptic to relay the message. 

It will have to be something short and visibly look solely work related for the camera. Easy. I scan the room quickly for a possible opportunity before waving to the others as I set the phone down.

“Gunter. I’m going for the _world’s longest shit_. Make sure Zoe knows.” To anyone outside of this laboratory, calling Hange by her first name wouldn’t mean jack. Gunter simply nodded at me. I knew I could trust him to relay it. 

I snap my gloves and goggles off once I leave the decontamination chamber and keep silent as I return to the showers, lockers and lift. There are two security guards waiting for me once the lift arrives to the ground level. I recognise them as the tall brunette man and the much shorter blonde girl who were sizing me up at the Halloween party. 

“Are you ready for _lunch_?” the tall brunette asks with an ominously cheery tone to his voice, to which I simply nod with a grim expression on my face. 

“The food had better be fucking _fantastic_ ” I retort. 

They escorted me to the door where the third, recognisable face joined us. The stocky blonde bloke who usually mans the CCTV desk. He proceeds to tell me the short blonde's name is simply 'The Female', the tall one is 'The Colossus", and his own nickname is simply 'The Armour'. Figuring where I was going and whom they evidently work with, I assume these are probably code names, save them using their own. What I wonder though is how the fuck do they not have names on HR files at Sina? Surely they have to know who the fuck you are before vetting you for fucking security? I briefly allowed my thoughts to question why the gang would have bodies in Sina. Would it be for just me, or would they risk stealing chemicals to fund their little extra-curricular activities? What the fuck was Kenny up to, and whom did he work for?

Having been led casually outside to the staff lot. There was a nondescript, black Mercedes parked out in the staff parking bays. It mixes in well with all the other cars as it’s a slightly older model and looks as if it’s not seen a wash for months. It’s conveniently parked aside my MG and I grit my teeth when I spot who’s leant up against the side of the black car with the rear door open for me. I felt like I was walking the green fucking mile. 

“Kenny” I said plainly upon our approach. “I suppose I’ll be leaving my car here, then?” I asked as I look at it. He followed my gaze and held his grubby fucking hand out to me, flicking his fingers in a beckoning gesture. 

“We’ll move it, so it doesn’t seem odd you’re still parked here.” 

“Like hell I’m giving you my keys.” I snap. “Besides, I live close and parking on my street is terrible so the staff are used to me using it as a makeshift second home for her.” I would have told them I keep body parts in the boot if it meant it kept their filthy hands out of my car, but I get the feeling it wouldn’t have bothered them like it would a normal human being. 

“Very well.” He sighed, defeated. 

The short blonde girl handed Kenny a black sack, made of _conveniently_ thick fabric.

“That thing better be fucking clean.” I say as I scooted into the back of the car. Despite it’s filthy exterior the insides were borderline reasonable. Not clean to my standards, but bearable at the very least. At least I wouldn’t have to look at it for however long I’m going to be in here. 

I was blindfolded and my head bagged and it seems I’m trusted enough to sit beside Kenny and not remove the hood. Customer service at it’s best. Goons one, two and three get in after him and the car purrs into action, removing me from the premises and into the unknown… 

\--- 

What must have been an hour drive later, the car stopped but no one moved. I heard a car door open followed by a slam shut, followed by a loud rattling noise. It sounded like they were opening the fucking gates of hell out there. Where they fuck am I? A few short moments later, the door opened, the car dips as the body returns, and the door is closed as the car pulls into somewhere anonymous. The same process repeats, only I can assume we are now inside a building of some sort. The door by my side opened and Kenny pulled the hood harshly from my head, flicking my hair into my face. I shake my head as I pull off the blindfold and wait a moment for my eyes to adjust to the lighting. 

The first thing that hits me when I get out of the car is the _smell_. It’s like rancid fish meat mixed with an old dusty fart. “Ugh” I hold my arm against my nose, scrunching my nose up in repulsion. 

“Beautiful isn’t it.” Kenny proclaimed with a smirk on his face. I look up and around to see if I can get a grip on where I was. I could faintly hear the hum of nearby machinery and the gentle sway outside of what must have been waves. We must be further down valley in what I could only assume is the next town over, Trost. It’s closer to the estuary of the river, which travels through Rose in its earlier courses. I push aside thoughts of how far from home I must be and return my attention to Kenny and the others who are filing out from the car. 

There were a few burly guard-looking types walking around and a few were watching our little gathering in the centre of what I could now see was a delivery loading bay. There are chain-curtained archways leading off into the opposite side of the large hall, presumably a factory of some sort. There are workers wandering around with forklifts and clipboards, moving pallets into trucks along the long side of the building. I can’t get a good look at what’s on the side of the trucks. I spot a pallet with large tins shrink-wrapped to it, with a colourful picture of a dog on the side. 

“Dog food, seriously?” I ask incredulously. 

“Come, Levi. We’ve only got your assistance for a limited time, and I would like for you to check over your workplace first. Once you’ve evaluated your equipment, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.” He explained.

“Gee, thanks.” I retorted sarcastically.

“You’ll be staying for a few weeks, let us at least _try_ to get along.” 

“Fuck you.” I muttered under my breath. He led me down towards a loading bay past a few trucks. The loading floor is busy with late afternoon deadlines to meet, trucks to load and floors to sweep. We pass through a small door at the back, which has a small sign that reads ‘Maintenance’ on it. The small hallway is lit with stark strip lights and there are four metal sliding doors, two on each side with one wooden door at the end of the hall once you turn a small corner. 

I’m led down through the door at the end that leads down a set of metal service steps. What’s with me and working in cellars? Can’t they give me somewhere with daylight? I’m led through the increasingly rickety conditions until we reach a janitor’s closet. I give Kenny a sceptical look and glare at him. He opens the door and beckons me in, closing the door behind him. Once in the privacy of about two square metres, he pushes a section of the dank wall open which leads into a flush chrome corridor. Hidden door, huh? 

“How fucking original.” 

He gestures for me to enter first, which I do, and I walk down the thin corridor and turn into a large room full of shiny, new looking equipment. I instantly recognise the setup from start to finish, all the processes involved in synthesising and creating my signature hallucinogen. 

The small dressing area close to me contains hazmat suits, masks and goggles, gloves and rubber boots. There are ventilators and large silver ventilation pipes hanging overhead across the entire room and I have to admit I’m impressed. I keep a stony expression as I walk further into the lab, getting a closer look at the large vats and distilling vials. 

“It’s filthy.”

“It’s all new, Levi.” 

“That doesn’t stop it being filthy.”

“I’ll have someone come in and look at it then.” 

“You do that. Where am I sleeping?” I cut to the chase. 

Kenny gestures to the opposite end of the laboratory where there is a sectioned off room with double layers of glass and two sealed doors leading into it, presumably to keep it’s contents safe from the lab’s chemicals. I can only assume those contents are about to become _me_. We walk a little closer and I look through the wall-length glass windows to the room. Zero privacy and I’ll be sleeping at the lab. Fucking brilliant. 

“Levi, if you don’t mind, I’ll need to keep hold of your phone. For… obvious reasons.” I nod and hand it over from out of my pocket without looking at it. I don’t imagine Eren would have gotten in touch yet; I’m not due home yet for hours. I grimace when I imagine what would go through Eren’s mind when he realises I’m not coming home. ‘It’s only three weeks’ I tell myself on repeat. 

“Is everything to your satisfaction?” Kenny asks.

I take another slow walk around the lab, inspecting everything closely and meticulously. “I need one thing.” 

“What’s that?”

“Stevie.” I say, a completely serious expression on my face. Kenny barks with laughter and looks down at me in disbelief. 

“A what now?” 

“You heard me. Everything else is fine, but I’m not making anything without Stevie.” I tell him. 

“You really haven’t changed at all” he sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.” 

He proceeded to explain how the next three weeks would roll out, when I’d be fed, where to shit, the works. 

I made myself as comfortable as I could on the small camp bed provided in the sealed room, which I’d learnt gets locked as soon as I’m in for the night and only opened for my shift the next day. It’s pretty much a prison cell. My breakfast is brought to me before I start working and I eat it in the dressing area at a small table, and likewise my dinner is brought to the same location after the lab has been washed down at the end of the day. 

The first few days I had nothing but delays because their excuses for cleaners couldn’t clean shit off a baby’s ass if they tried, so I ended up doing most of it myself. Add four days to my fucking schedule why don’t you. Four more days away from Eren that could have been avoided if Kenny didn’t employ incompetent shit stains. 

Kenny handed me a music dock and a crabby old first-gen iPod, although having checked it over its absolutely crammed with Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and a lot of other bits and bobs from various eras. At least he’s good for his word and remembers what I like. I plug it in and my shoulders sag slightly in my hazmat suit as Frank Sinatra’s voice starts to fill the lab. It’s ironic how well this band goes with synthesising a hallucinogenic drug. Either way I’m singing along as I start, not giving a flying fuck what their goons must think of me. 

“I know I stand in line until you think you have the time to spend an evening with me” I start, pulling a few chemicals out and setting them by the trays on the chrome counter tops. 

“And if we go someplace to dance I know that there’s a chance you won’t be leaving with me”

I heave up a large plastic container and start pouring slowly into one of the heating vats. “And afterwards we drop into a quiet little place or have a drink or two…” I mumble to myself, a slight bob in my knees along to the slow music as the liquid glugs out in large splashes. 

“And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like go fuck yourself.” I sing as pitch perfectly as I can, holding out a bright yellow-gloved middle finger for the goon watching over me. He seemed amused at first whilst he was watching me sing, but now he’s just looking a bit pissed off. 

Shucks. 

I can’t bring myself to care. I’m feeling a bit emotionally constipated because I haven’t actually given a shit in days. Or taken one, for that matter. 

As the song picks up I’m busting out occasional dance moves and swaying in my ridiculous yellow hazmat suit as I move around the lab quickly bringing chemicals together in a variety of different techniques. If I’m here I may as well try to have some fun. I always did prefer my own company, and dancing like no one’s watching was always one of my guilty pleasures. 

Certain songs I skip, such as The Mac’s ‘ _Don’t Stop_ ’, because I’d rather not think about tomorrow, I’d rather think about Eren, and a cup of decent tea, and a shit where someone isn’t watching me. I’ve developed a serious case of the poo-shy these last few days and I’m starting to get grouchy and bunged up. It’s fucking awful. 

For the entire time, I’ve got all eyes on me at all hours of the day and the night. Security cameras watch my every move, and armed guards take turns keeping an eye on me from the dressing area whilst I work in the lab. I can’t even take a shit without someone keeping an eye on me. I see very little from Kenny over the next couple of weeks, only the occasional guard, and it’s only ever one of three guards who seem to alternate shifts randomly.

I was provided with new chemicals as and when I needed them, and they arrived in un-branded, barely labelled containers that simply had the chemical symbol on the bottle of what it was. 

Just as well I’m a ginormous fucking nerd otherwise I’d have gassed myself long ago from this shitty labelling system. Once my head hits the pillow each nights, my thoughts are flooded with green eyes and tanned skin. I can’t wait to get back to Eren, to have him in my arms and to be held in return. With every passing day, my doubt of survival tends to increase. I grow increasingly concerned and worried that they’re going to simply kill me once I’ve made what they need. It would make sense. I’m working somewhere, where no one knows where I am. I left without so much as a peep to anyone after experiencing a loss. It wouldn’t be uncommon for me to have gone missing after a death, the cops will probably write me off as some sort of depression or suicide case, given my history. 

Unpleasant thought processes aside, the days and the hours merge into one and before I know it I’m compiling one of my final batches.


	14. ...The Seven Wonders

The product had been observed carefully every step of the way. I had followed every step by my mental handbook I’d stored away roughly ten years ago. Synthesising Shift isn’t something you particularly ever forget. It’s kinda like riding a bike. I’ve had these fucking goons watching over me day and night, forcing me to fucking sleep in this filthy excuse for a sterile environment. They’ll be lucky to get ninety per cent purity at this rate. As it is, their self-taught so-called chemists have only been able to get to the seventies in the last ten years since I invented the shit; it’s surprising some bright spark hasn’t cracked it yet. 

It’s simple enough, to me at least. 

I’m carefully scooping the remnants of the batch into a small clear container atop a set of scales when none other than our beautiful resident fucktard Kenny walks through the door. I politely ignore him and return to my measurements, which are more or less complete. I jot down the weight and clip the lid into place, hauling the box onto a palette. In my four weeks I’d been here, including fucking delays, I’d made roughly fifty kilos in sub-standard conditions and achieved a (surprise, surprise) ninety-four per cent purity batch average. There’s millions on this one palette, and there’s five palettes. 

I pulled off my gloves and turned to face Kenny who’s quietly observing me. “What?” I ask, annoyed by his staring. 

“All done?” 

“Where is he?” 

“Patience, Levi. He’s on his way to _personally_ inspect the product.” To which I grumble. 

“When is he gonna be here?” 

“When the time is right.” Kenny mused out loud. I got a strange sense of dejavu as he spoke those words, having heard Erwin tell me the exact same words a month before. 

“Well I’m gonna go shower. Or are Jack and Jill over there gonna watch me do that too?” I gestured towards the tall lanky brunette and the shorter blonde gorilla. They seemed un-phased by my nicknames and simply stood like the peons they were. 

“For now, Levi. Please stay put. He will be arriving any moment now,” Kenny assured me. I’m sure waiting a few extra minutes would be worth feeling disgusting if I could get this all fucking done with. 

“Why do I get the feeling that by the end of the day I’m gonna be escorted out of here rolled in a carpet on my way to becoming fucking dog food?” 

“Oh Levi. You always were a pessimist at the best of times. I gave you my word.” 

“Tch. That’s _precisely_ what I’m worried about…” I griped under my breath. He seems to have heard it but by the time he can retort, the doors swing open and a tall man with long hair swept into a ponytail and circular glasses walks in. He’s got a bit of a scruffy looking attempt at a beard, and he seemed to hold himself with an intimidating, authoritative aura, which made the other peons in the room swallow nervously. So this was the fucker that was gonna be the one to finish me off? Interesting. 

“Good afternoon, Gentlemen” the man nodded to Kenny and then myself. “You must be Levi” he held out a hand and I shook it. His hands were remarkably well taken care of and clean to boot. He didn’t have callouses or untidy fingernails, so I figured him to be the type to pay meticulous (if not anal) attention to detail. 

I hummed in response and he gave me a quick look over, then his eyes landed on the palettes of boxed product behind me. 

“So this is the famous Ackerman ‘Shift’?” 

“You could call it that” I deadpanned. Jesus what is it with people and stating the goddamn fucking obvious? 

He moved around Kenny and me to look over the charts I’d used to record the batches, their weights and their purities. 

“Very impressive.” He thought out loud. 

“It’d be a fuck-ton more impressive if I had _clean_ equipment to work with.” I grumbled.

Kenny looked over at me with a peculiar look on his face. I couldn’t quite place it. It was as if it were an emotion he’d not used in years. I’d seen this look before but had long forgotten what was behind it. My pondering was interrupted when he spoke.

“Sir. As agreed, he has provided us with the required job, so shall I have him sent back?” 

The bespectacled man scratched at his chin and turned to look at us both again, a blank and unreadable expression on his face. _The Seven Wonders_ was playing quietly in the background as he eyed me up and down. I couldn’t help but feel as though it wasn’t accidental. Perhaps I won’t live to see them. Never know. Alternatively, there’s absolutely nothing stopping these clowns from keeping me here against my will as their drug producer. Retaliate or be put down like the dogs in the tins upstairs. 

The man flexed a finger toward Kenny, beckoning him closer as I unwrapped my top half from the hazmat suit, tying the arms around my waist. I didn’t catch much of their conversation but I caught enough toward the end of it.

“That leaves us with only _one_ option. Am I wrong?” The man stared Kenny down with a soft frown. By now I wish I had been able to see Eren at least one more time before this moment came. I’d been thinking I wasn’t going to make it out of this alive, and it would seem my suspicions and concerns were being confirmed before my eyes.

“Sorry Levi, Guys?” Kenny gestured to the goons nearby, flicking a finger towards me.

Before I can blink, there’s armed guards everywhere and I’m fucking surrounded. Isn’t this wonderful. “Now, Mister Levi.” The man removed his glasses and I can hear a few guns clicking, pointed in my direction if my peripheral vision served me well and accurately.

“It was a pleasure working with you, but it’s just _so_ unfortunate that you weren’t on our side…” I glared at him when he paused, waiting for him to finish his sentence. “Let’s just say we know about your little liaisons with the BDE.” Shit. He knew all a-fucking-long I was set up to do this by Mike. Turns out I didn’t need to verbally confirm that he was right. It was probably written all over my fucking face. 

“As I say, such a shame you weren’t able to work with us any longer, but thank you anyway for your services. We will not be requiring anything further from you.” Suddenly the boss turns to Jack and Jill. They startle slightly and look over, straightening their postures. 

“Would you two gentlemen kindly escort Mister Levi around back for me please? _You know what to do_.” He said, with a grave and stern expression on his face. The two simply nodded and before I could react I was being manhandled, kicking and swearing at the bastard. “Fuck you, Kenny! So much for your fucking word!” I seethed. I was dragged up the range of stairwells and corridors, outside and around a large building. It would appear we were in some sort of industrial estate, in a warehouse on street level close to the docks. It was peculiar how well hidden in plain sight the place was, given its contents. 

I felt a kick from the tall brunette to the back of my left knee and I dropped to the floor, wincing slightly as the gravel made sharp contact with the palms of my hands and my knees. I attempted to get back up but I felt a sharp pain connect with my temple and my vision went blurry for a moment whilst my body hit the gravel again, full force. 

I could hear the same guy loading his gun and I slowly but briefly looked over my shoulder to confirm. Is it bad that my final thought was disappointment for not being able to take a good shit before I die? 

Wait. 

Now was my chance. 

If I went for the brunette first, I’d have a shot at disarming him and getting the fuck out of here alive. A chance to see those beautiful emerald eyes again. That was fuel enough for the fire that ignited in me and I felt the adrenaline build as I braced myself, still half recovering from the blows to the head. 

With one quick motion I turned and went to swing a fist at the brunette before he could react. At that exact moment in time, I flinched and staggered backwards as I heard the deafening sound of a gunshot ring out right in front of me. 

Fuck. Was I too slow? Was this it? I looked down at myself. I wasn’t bleeding. “What the fuck…” 

The blonde gorilla-man was stood in front of me holding his smoking gun up where the brunette used to be standing. He was now very dead, lying in the gravel in a pool of his own blood. I looked up at the blonde with my mouth hanging open, absolutely flabbergasted. He was holding up a small shiny badge at me. 

_That motherfucker!_

The blood was pumping so fast through my ears I could swear I could have had a heart attack from relief at that very moment. “Yeah,” he radioed back into the warehouse, “He’s been taken care of” he looked at me and gestured over his shoulder to follow. Erwin, Mike you beautiful sons of bitches; I could kiss you right now!

“Hey, I’m Officer Braun, by the way. Call me Reiner. Levi, right?” he asked as we jogged carefully away from the warehouse. It was fairly large so we kept close to the wall to avoid being seen. It was a fucking miracle no one did, what with me still wearing a bright yellow hazmat suit over my legs. 

“Yeah. You’re Mike’s guy?” He nodded as he handed me a spare gun to which I hummed thanks. “You might not need this, but just in case.” 

“ _Fuck_ , get down!” he said as he fished his phone out, dialling a number. We ducked behind a few crates as a patrol went past. It was that short blonde woman I recognised from Sina. This definitely explained how they got their chemicals for these jobs. 

“Now. Go” he said into the phone. I tried to keep myself down, as it had been a good decade since I’d brushed up on any of my survival skills, let alone handled a gun.

Reiner pulled at my arm and we continued jogging. We crept up to the corner of the front of the warehouse and I glanced over my shoulder for a split second, only to lock eyes with the short blonde woman. I instantly know that this is the moment where all shit is about to hit the fan because she looks up, mortified, from the brunette’s body and glares at me: who just _happens_ to be holding a fucking gun and running from the brunette’s warm corpse the exact moment Reiner takes the corner and thus ends up out of her sight. 

Talk about wrong place wrong fucking time. 

I briskly duck around the corner and give Reiner a nudge and he drags me quite painfully by the arm as a number of people start yelling from behind us and a vicious barrage of shooting begins. We dive behind a stack of crates and we both lean against it, narrowly avoiding bullets. My heart is racing both from escaping near-death as well as entering another excuse to graze it once again. 

“Fuck” Reiner mumbled as he carefully tipped his head around the corner of the crates to get a look at how many people were shooting at us. I dare to do the same and quickly notice how it’s not actually _us_ that they’re shooting at anymore. I turn back around and spot the road leading towards the front of the building filling with BDE patrol cars with officers ducking behind their doors, drawing their guns. 

“Oh, so how was your weekend?” I mutter to myself “Oh not bad, just went for some drinks, met some new people, and got a fucking personal invitation to the middle of a fucking shootout!” I snapped at Reiner. “How the fuck are we going to get out of here?” 

Reiner nodded towards another set of crates and palettes just a little further out, away from the warehouse. It was a risky call but the goons at the warehouse seemed to be pretty well distracted by the cops. We went for it. I ran first and Reiner followed closely behind until we were diving behind another stack of crates fixed to a palette. I turned to him and asked if he was okay, to which he nodded firmly. He asked me also, and I confirmed I was safe. 

“Stay here, okay? I’ll go make sure the coast is clear,” he said. I wasn’t about to argue. Just as he left I went to adjust the gun he’d given me just in case I needed it and suddenly the damned thing was being kicked out of my grasp. Fuck! In that same moment I lifted my hands up to defend myself against another kick as I stumbled to my feet into clear line of fire from the others nearby. I stared down my opponent for a moment, bracing myself to fight. It was that blonde woman from earlier. The one who probably rumbled us and started this whole royal shitfest. Also the one who probably thought I killed her fucking boyfriend. 

I briefly darted my eyes at the gun she’d kicked from my grasp and she took the moment to lunge forward, hurling a fist towards the side of my head. I quickly ducked and landed a quick jab to her left side. She wheezed and returned the favour, pulling her leg up to try to make contact with my right leg. I quickly ducked my arm down and her boot connected with my right wrist, blocking it to some degree. I’m pretty sure I heard something crunch, but I didn’t feel any immediate pain so I remained focused on getting out of the firing range.

Another shot was fired, this time much closer and the blonde stumbled back as if she’d been hit, as I was almost pulled off my feet by Reiner grabbing my collar and pulling, hard. 

I was given no time to assess whether she’d actually been shot or not before I was being ordered to “Move!” from Reiner, and we ducked our heads and ran in the opposite direction to the warehouse and he shoved me into a patrol car. Once I was sat, the officer driving immediately pulled out and moved the car down the street away from the firing range. I let out a sigh of relief. Albeit by the skin of my teeth, I’d be living to see another day. I went to move my arm and my wrist exploded with sharp pain, making me cry out in the back seat. 

The officer turned the car left around a building’s corner. It was probably less than twenty metres, but it was completely out of the line of fire and for that I was grateful. There were flashing lights and three ambulances also parked there, which doubled my feeling of respite. He got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door and I made a dash for a nearby street drain, proceeding to empty the contents of my stomach into it. My entire body was shaking as I wretched and I felt like a wreck. My arm throbbed and I soon felt a pair of hands on my shoulders, so I looked up after wiping my chin with my left hand. 

“You’re alright now, Sir. Please, follow me if you can” It was a paramedic. 

I began to truly feel the throbbing around the side of my head where I’d been hit and I could feel my left eye had begun swelling from the impact. My head suddenly went light and I staggered backwards, flat onto my arse as the man’s arms came around me to catch me. The rest was a big foggy as it would seem I passed out on the side of the street.

\--- 

I came around as I was being wheeled into the hospital on a gurney by the paramedics and I was in and seen to within the first few minutes from arrival to the A&E. My head was significantly less fuzzy now, so just before they carted me off for an x-ray, I asked a quick question of one of the nurses. 

“Hey you.” I looked at one, pointedly.

“Me?” 

“Yeah, can you phone someone for me? To uh… let them know I’m alright?” I asked. My head still hurt but the feeling in my wrist whenever I moved it quickly overrode it with an agonizing pain. 

I scribbled out a phone number super scruffily with my off-hand and handed it to him, to which he simply nodded. 

The rest of the medical staff asked to have me strip to my boxers and put a gown on so they could x-ray me, then they led me into a little curtained section of a large, busy ward to have my wrist wrapped into a cast and a cool wet cloth placed against my forehead. Turns out my wrist is broken in three places according to the x-ray they bring me. Fuck that blonde kicked hard. 

As one nurse applies the final butterfly stitch to the side of my head next to my swollen eye, the nurse I asked from before returns, shaking his head. 

“I couldn’t get hold of them. It went straight to voicemail.” 

“Hm.” _Where is he?_

A pair of officers came into view from what I could see past the curtain into the ward, and a pair of tall, reasonably well-built guys walked in. One of them flipped out a notepad and pen. Detectives, I guessed. 

“Hello, Mr Ackerman. May I call you Levi?” the man asked. He had a crew cut and a meaty jawline, and his buddy had some shaggy blonde surfer hair and a face like a slapped arse. 

“Yeah, and _you_ are?” 

“Detective Mitabi Jarnach.” I knew it. “This is Detective Ian Dietrich. If you don’t mind we’d like to ask a few questions if you feel fit to.” 

“Fire away” I said as the nurse finished up setting my arm into a sling around my neck and rolled her station out of the thin, sheet-walled enclosure to give us some reasonable privacy. The two officers smiled and nodded in thanks as she left. 

“Very well. Let’s start from the beginning.” 

\--- 

Hours passed and a few phone calls to Mike later, when they were quite done with interrogating me, I groaned as I got out of the hospital bed and stretched my shoulders and neck. I’d gone a bit stiff from sitting in the same position for hours, running over my story and explaining my side, giving them what I knew from Mike. I frowned as I didn’t have my phone and all I wanted at this point was to hear Eren’s voice. My usual sour expression was plastered across my face as I left the hospital. No car and no phone. Ugh. At least I still had my wallet, looks like I’m getting a cab and a train home. In a fucking hazmat suit. 

I passed the reception and asked the clerk to call me a cab. The woman looked at me with a pretty angry expression and instantly stood to tell me I could have a concussion so I needed to stay overnight. Like hell I was going to. I gave her an earful of my bad mood, which I didn’t regret in the slightest, as it resulted in her calling the cab. I waited just inside the doors since it was colder than Neptune out there, patting my pockets down. Fuck, no smokes either. The forces of the world hate me today. I scoff. Today? They’ve hated me since fucking _birth_. At least the cab arrives, that’s one good thing. I get him to drop me at the train station and buy myself a ticket to Rose city, which as it turns out, is indeed further up the valley. 

Three fucking hours later, a second cab dropped me at work, since that’s where I left my car and I pay the guy, get out and return to my car, get in, go to fish my keys out of my pocket and realise my G and R tape is still in from the other day. 

If the intro to _Welcome to the Jungle_ wouldn’t help put me in the mood for getting the fuck home in record time I don’t know what would. Along the way I learnt that driving with a fractured fucking wrist and half vision couldn’t be more of an ass pain if I had tried. Indicators on the right of the wheel had to go completely un-touched and I’m sure some other drivers felt a little pissed off at my lack of courtesy. They should try driving one-armed; see how well they fucking indicate. 

Either way, a few ignored red lights and a few pissed off pedestrians and possibly one speeding ticket later, I make it to Eren’s flat in one piece and walk my way up to his door. I knock and wait, and Mikasa answers the door looking worried at first, then mortified by my appearance, then her expression finally morphs into her usual rage she saves just for me. Aren’t I just _blessed_. Mikasa’s constant bitchface is not what I need right now though, so I cut to the chase. 

“Where’s Eren?” she’s more pissed now I ask that. 

“He’s at the police station. A couple of guys from the BDE showed up and arrested him about an hour ago. Have you been selling him drugs?” Wow, she doesn’t beat around any bushes. “Also where the fuck have you been, Levi? We’ve been worried sick! What the fuck happened to your face?!” 

“The fuck? No I have not been fucking dealing to Eren- or anyone for that matter! Why the fuck did they arrest him?” 

“They didn’t say.” She folded her arms and pouted at me, still glaring. 

I groan. “I know someone who may have an idea. I lost my phone so I’ll call you once I find anything out, probably from a pay phone. Just give me your number.” 

She didn’t look amused, but I knew she understands our mutual care and love for Eren, so she complies and writes her number down for me. “You can interrogate me about where I’ve been later, if you don’t hear it from the news first.” I tell her, hoping some television coverage of the shootout will at least provide me with less to talk about once I finally have to confront her.

I stick Mikasa’s number in my pocket and headed back down to the car, driving back to Sina. On the way, my thoughts race. Why did they arrest Eren? I did everything I could to prevent him getting involved. What if Kenny had something to do with this and is fucking with me again because I managed to escape? Surely not, with everything that was going on after I was taken outside. I don’t think he’d be able to orchestrate something so quickly, but you never know. 

It’s almost midnight by now, so I have to call over the intercom to get the night shift guard to let me in. Once I’m in, it’s down to the subs to my office. I let myself into the office and fish through my desk for my work mobile. I dig around for some clothes that aren’t yellow, since I’ve been walking around in a fucking T-shirt in December, and I pull on a coat, revelling in its thick, fuzzy warmth. It’s a bit tricky to get it on with a cast, but I manage. I frown slightly as the warmth and the green colour reminds me of Eren for the millionth time. 

I switch my phone on and ignore a bunch of alerts of stupid emails from Hange and head briskly up to the land of the living for some damn signal and dial Erwin’s number. He answers on the first ring. 

“Levi.” He doesn’t sound tired despite it being late. 

“Where’s Mike?” 

“It’s good to hear from you. Mike’s at work. Everything went well?” 

“As much as I want to fucking hug you right now I also want to fucking strangle your husband. They arrested Eren earlier.” 

“I see,” he says. As if it’s no surprise to him.

“Alright shitty eyebrows, what the fuck do you know?” 

The line goes quiet. “I can’t disclose that, however everything will become clear soon.” 

“When the fuck is _soon_ , and what the fuck has any of this shit got to do with Eren?”

“Levi, trust me. I am sure Eren will just have been taken in for a few questions, and will be released soon. In the meantime, why not head home and get some sleep. You sound tired.” 

I simply hang up on Erwin and tap in Eren’s number. Straight to fucking voicemail. Shy of taking myself down to the BDE office, the edges of my eyes are starting to tingle with exhaustion. Any chance for me to slip into miserable thoughts about Petra or thoughts about missing Eren are quickly replaced by a selfish desire to crash. To crash and to burn. Preferably in a bed. 

I sit down in the lobby and the simple act of sitting by myself for a singular moment allows the events of the past months to catch up to me full force. Kenny, the threats, Petra, the misery and self blame, the funeral, the drive, the lab, the job, the gunfight, the hospital, Eren’s arrest, the fucking unanswered questions. Hundreds of the little fuckers swirling through my mind like black ink dropped into a glass of water. Breeding and multiplying faster than mould on a month old takeout left in the fucking sun. 

I slipped my arm from the sling, allowing myself to groan loudly in frustration into the large empty lobby. “Ugh!” I yell as I throw my hands up and they hit against the wall behind me, forcing a shooting pain up my right arm, which I instantly regret. I whimper pathetically and crumple onto my left side, pulling my knees up onto the cushy leather sofa. 

Next thing I knew I was asleep. 

\--- 

I was awoken groggily by the noise of a persistent, distant high-pitched squealing. The fuck is that? 

I open my eyes and my whole body feels like I’m moving through sludge. I slip the sling back around my neck to cradle my throbbing wrist. Turns out that sofa wasn’t as comfortable as I’d thought. My whole body feels trashed and I’m utterly exhausted. I must have only slept for four or five hours and I feel like my body is craving and begging for more sleep. 

I pushed myself up to trudge out to the car. I haven’t got anything to lose by going, so I drive for about half an hour out towards the BDE office and find a parking space. I spend a good few minutes just sat in the car, mental questions assaulting me. With a firm ‘fuck you’ to those thoughts, I get out and I go in. There’s the detectives from last night in the far rear of the office visible from behind the glass at the reception.

Convenient. 

The receptionist looks at me and I gesture towards the two men. “May I have a word with the two Detectives? They took a statement last night, I’m Levi Ackerman.”

They turn over their shoulder and call over “Hey, uh. Ian? Mitabi? There’s a guy here to see you. Mr Ackerman”

“Ah, hello again. How can we help?” the surfer dude asked as he approached. Ian was it? 

I shuffled a bit on the spot. “Yeah, uh. I’m looking for an Eren Yeager. I was told he’d be here?” 

They exchanged glances and looked back at me sceptically. “How do you know him?” 

“He’s my boyfriend.” I responded flatly, not seeing the harm in saying so. 

“Hm. Interesting. You’d better come with us.” 

I was lead into a small room containing a few sofas. I was asked to stay and make myself comfortable. No one told me anything and I was getting annoyed as fuck. Until I fucking fell asleep. Turns out my body had other plans than finding out where Eren was. 

It must have been a good solid two hours that I was left uninterrupted and I felt mildly annoyed that if I were awake I’d probably have killed someone by now from having to wait so long. It was also pretty much morning now, albeit early. I got up and stretched, but I wasn’t up for long as the door suddenly opened to the small waiting room and multiple people started filing in. About three officers wearing flack vests and the two detectives from earlier, as well as Mike. Right after them comes Eren, and green meets with one grey eye for the first time in over a month. 

Eren’s Caribbean eyes scan rapidly up and down me, assessing for damage and his gaze settles on my arm and wrist with a pained expression of worry before returning to my face. I can just see his heart dropping. 

“Is this the part where you give me some fucking answers?” 

“We’ve released Eren,” Mike says, as Eren hurries over to me. I stand up, move my arm to the side as much as I can as he pulls me into a bone-crushing hug, almost squeezing the life out of me. I feel the air leave my lungs as he clings to me for dear life, as if making sure I’m actually here in his arms. I eventually manage to lean back to get a good look at him and he looks as if he’s not slept a wink either. He looks stressed, tired and agitated. His cheeks are stained from tears and I can’t help but to want to-

I return to doubting my assessment of his mind reading abilities, because my thought process is brought to a screeching halt when his warm, soft lips are on mine. _Sweet fucking hallelujah_. 

_Finally_. 

Our mouths move against each other’s, as if committing them to memory, afraid that if we were to part it could very well be for the last time. The kiss is laced with desperation and ends far too soon for either of our likings. As much as I never wanted his lips to ever leave mine, if I didn’t pull away now I’d have to charge all these lovely officers in the room for the show that would ensue. 

With slightly pink cheeks, Eren leaned back and smiled at me somewhat. I take his hand and gesture for him to take a seat with me and we link fingers, my left with his, and his right arm around my shoulders. I’d place my right hand a little _somewhere_ else but it’s currently slung against my chest, wrapped in a cast. I reluctantly pry my attention away from my lover and look back up at Mike expectantly. Eren in the meantime keeps a gentle grip on my hand and looks me over. He can’t take his eyes off me. 

“Mr Ackerman, I would like to thank you for your co-operation and patience” 

“Like fuck you are” 

Undeterred, he continued, “It is because of you, that we were able to bring down the biggest, most notorious international drug cartels in, quite possibly history.”

“Where’s Kenny? And that other bastard?” 

Mike leant over and took a file from Ian surfer-hair-dude, and scanned it over quickly before handing it over to me. I flicked it open and viewed the photos. He politely provided a running commentary, because the bloody pictures weren’t fucking clear enough. 

“Kenny Ackerman, along with seven other of his associates were shot dead on site, a result of the gunfire you were briefly caught in.” 

I turned another page and spotted the glasses-guy who told his goons to shoot me out back like fucking livestock. Eren turned his head to look at his lap and squeezed my hand tightly.

“Grisha Yeager was identified and arrested shortly after we gained control over the situation and is believed to be the founder of the criminal organisation responsible for the distribution of Shift. Formerly the small-time gang you became involved with thirteen years ago, supposedly led by Kenny.” 

“ _What?_ ” I looked at the page, then to Eren, then to Mike. “You’re saying this guy is related to Eren?”

Eren frowned deeply and tears started to well in his eyes. He buried his face into my left shoulder and I pulled my hand free from his to wrap my good arm around his shoulders tightly. 

“Yes. Grisha Yeager is Eren’s father.” 

“ _Well_. Fuck me sideways.” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else, although Eren would have heard. He simply remained held against me to the best of my ability and his shoulders shook softly as Mike continued. 

“We initially put the connection together that as Eren was working at Sina Pharmaceuticals, he could have potentially have been involved in the theft of materials involved to operate his drug production.” I guess that makes sense. 

“And?” I look up at Mike pointedly, daring him to accuse Eren. 

“He checks out. He’s clean. His father hasn’t lived at home for years, and they rarely speak.” That explains why Eren never spoke about his father. I figured it was a touchy subject so I didn’t ever bring it up. 

If my thoughts took wild flight before, worrying about everything relating to the job, Eren and Petra, then now they had been fucking catapulted into space. So there were chemical thefts at Sina? How the fuck did that go under the radar? For how long? Wait. 

Erwin told me Eren’s father was head of Operations. That would provide him with a way of signing chemicals out without failing audit. He was clearly working with those two from security. Goddamn. 

I slumped into my seat, realising that the entire situation with Erwin, Mike and insiders within Sina was frighteningly bigger plot than I’d known I’d been involved with. Far bigger than I could grasp, at least in my current exhausted state.

“So what happens now?” I asked. 

“We take a few statements, match up the pieces where you slot into the puzzle, and then you go home.”

“Ha, you make it sound like I’ll be home before noon.” I scoff. 

Mike simply smiles and as expected, hours later…

“If we need any more information we will be sure to call you, however please take yourselves home and try to rest. We’ll have officers placed outside your residence to ensure you are given some peace and quiet until everything has been wrapped up. You have both done everything you needed to.” 

I could feel Eren relax in my arms before he sat back up. 

_It was over._


	15. The Rainbow's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quite possibly the most boring chapter of the entire fic.
> 
> Sorry.

I vaguely recall there being light behind my eyelids, and vaguely remember registering it as the next morning, but the warmth of wherever it was I fell asleep is all I wanted to indulge in. 

I also vaguely recall smelling food sometime later, mixed with the light behind my eyelids being annoyingly bright before falling back to sleep. 

It’s only when the bed moves that I actually make a conscious choice to start the day. I rub my eyes open and stretch out all over the bed. My foot touches something and I try to focus my sleepy eyes over onto it. Eren’s sat on my side of the bed looking at me with a soft smile, a tray in his hands with a bowl and a cup of tea. 

“Good morning, Levi. I made you breakfast.” 

I grumble a little and sit up, wincing a little as my arm twinges in pain. “Mm, thanks,” I say as he gently sets the tray on my lap. The bowl contains porridge, which has a little smiley face drawn out in a red jam on the top. I look back up at Eren “What am I? Five?” I ask, to which he chuckles. 

He just sits and watches me eat with the same soft, goofy smile on his face. “What? Is there something on my face?” I ask, rolling my eyes. 

“There is actually” he says, and before I have a chance to move my hand up to wipe my face, he’s leaning over to place a kiss upon my cheek. I feel my cheeks tingle with an unfamiliar sensation and my chest feels warm. 

“You know I have like four weeks off work now, thanks to… everything.” I say between mouthfuls as I hold up my right arm with its cast-wrapped wrist. 

“What did you want to do with it? My supervisor gave me a bit of time off to match yours, as signed off by Mr. Smith, courtesy of Mike.” Eren explained. 

I paused, briefly remembering my little moment in the lobby at Sina roughly a day ago. I set my spoon down after another mouthful and swallowed the gloopy oatmeal quickly before speaking in a soft voice. 

“I’d… like to visit Petra.” 

Eren hummed in agreement, leaning over to remove the tray from my lap once I’d finished. 

“We can pick some flowers up on the way,” he suggested. 

“That’d be nice” 

“What were her favorites?” Eren asked.

“Stocks. She loved the smell.” 

“I know a cute little flower shop we can go to on the way, it’s next to that new tattoo place that just opened.” Eren smiled. I knew the place and nodded. 

“Sounds like a plan.” 

I blinked for a short moment as my abdomen twinges with an uncomfortable pain. Eren furrows his brows slightly and leans in toward me, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Levi what is it? Are you okay?” he frantically asks. I quickly, if not a little rudely shove him and the duvet away, making a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door shut and flicking the toilet seat down, rewarding myself with a much deserved, long overdue, _private_ shit. 

Shortly after I was up, having had a shit, shave and a shower, I got dressed and Eren drove us down in the MG to the flower shop and we picked up a modest bunch of pink, white and purple stock flowers and headed down the road to the crematorium gardens. Petra didn’t have a grand protruding headstone as such; just a small plaque with a vase set aside it for flowers, simple yet elegant. It had some slightly wilted white roses in it but I couldn’t say when they were placed there. I hadn’t been since the funeral almost two months ago, and I have to admit it was much better coming with just Eren than having all of her family around us too. 

We made our way through the small gardens and rows until we found the stone with Petra’s name, my left hand linked with Eren’s. Eren leant over to remove the dying flowers and I nodded in thanks as I leant down to re-fill it with the lightly scented flowers. 

“It suits her,” Eren said. 

We stood in comfortable silence and I leant against his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. The wind gently blew from one side to the other, a few late autumn leaves rustling and dancing past us in the cold early winter breeze. 

“Yeah… it does” 

“Levi?” 

“Yeah” 

“I know you’ve been staying since…” he trailed off, looking at the small plaque with Petra’s name on it. “Move in with me, like, for good.” 

I paused, slowly looking up at him and we turned to face one another. One quick glance towards Petra’s plaque again and I looked back up. Stormy grey locked with emerald and I stood up onto my toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. 

“What about Mikasa? Your flat is about as big as a floppy dick”

“What about your new apartment?” he countered with a cheeky grin, completely ignoring my dick comment. 

“Touché. Wouldn’t that basically be _you_ moving in with me?”

“Call it what you will.” He smiles, and hot damn I’d missed that smile. 

“Sure. I’m game.” 

\--- 

Days merged into weeks and weeks added up into months. Before I knew it, winter came and went and the trees were starting to blossom again beneath the remnants of the snow that delicately decorated the ground.

I’d originally moved in with Eren for a short-term solution while Petra’s family had taken care of her townhouse. I had only been back to the house a couple of times and it was eerie each time. It reminded me that you really never know when death is coming. You could hang up your underwear for the world to see, fully intending on taking them down a few hours later, and then suddenly your grieving family members are crying over your pants, as they have to take them down for you. Life is so delicate, it would seem.

I couldn’t help but think how things could have gone differently, should I have made different choices. Eren helped me to understand that these things happen, much like with his mother. Things that are beyond our control. There would be no sense in dwelling, and I didn’t visit Petra’s grave again after I went with Eren. She wasn’t there, not really. I would rather honor her memory by buying fresh stock flowers now and again for the kitchen and sending occasional bouquets to the family on anniversaries of her death or her birthday. 

The soft scent would gently remind me of her, and it was enough. 

As I stood staring at the pink flowers I’d just set out onto the windowsill, I feel a pair of strong, warm arms wrap around my waist, and I feel a tender kiss placed on my cheek. I loosen my body and lean back into his, closing my eyes as he rests his head upon my shoulder. 

We stood in comfortable silence, just enjoying one another’s scents. Eren smelt as if he’d just had a shower and I could feel the water droplets on my neck. I loved how Eren knew exactly how to hold me, depending on the situation. He grounded me and kept me sane, whereas I tended to light a fire within him that could only be extinguished with lots and lots of glorious sex. No complaints here. Of course I wasn’t always the one to initiate, Eren had his occasional moments. He was generally pretty submissive for a top, whereas I preferred to boss him about, and certainly didn’t hold back on telling him how I wanted it. 

“Hey Levi, check this out” he said as he released me. I frowned a little, missing the warmth of his embrace but not necessarily the wetness of his hair. He returned to pull a newspaper in front of me, wrapping his arms around me to hold both sides of the paper open in front of my eyes. He had a copy of the international business paper, open on a double-page spread on the current corporate investigation scandal going on at Sina Pharmaceuticals. I remained contentedly still, leant up against him as he skim-read from the article on my behalf. He’d clearly read it and was giving me the best bits, cutting the boring crap. 

“Following the recent bust of internal thefts at Pharmaceutical giant Sina’s head laboratories, there have been a total of forty internal investigations, leading to twelve disciplinary hearings, four dismissals and two arrests.” Erwin had turned the entire place on its head after Mike gave him the head’s up. Turns out he had Reiner working security to keep an eye on a few things like the blonde one and the tall brunette he was investigating. 

The investigations had been going on for almost half a year, and were expecting to be coming to a close soon. If anything, only Erwin fucking Smith could make a corporate corruption scandal be dealt with efficiently and as under-the-radar as possible. He had both of our respect. 

Despite saving the company from near-definite ruin, it didn’t go without its drawbacks and consequences. Erwin was resigning from his position to work for the Bureau of Drug Enforcement with Mike as a strategist or some bullshit, and handing over the company to a new, currently unnamed CEO, who was apparently someone external and completely fresh to the company. Word around work had it he was Erwin’s former boss for years and already had plans in place to completely re-shape the company. The announcement was happening tomorrow, hence the recent buzz in today’s papers. 

“…and they will be announcing the new Chairman tomorrow evening at the Rose Medical Conference.” Eren finished and I lifted my hands to take the paper from him and set it down, neatly folded. I turn in his arms and snake my hands around his waist, resting my thumbs in the top of his joggers’ waistband. He rests his hands on my chest, sneaking his fingers under my housecoat and onto my bare chest. 

“What do you reckon will happen next with your department?” Eren asked. 

A couple months into the investigations, SinaPharm’s biggest military client dropped out, therefore rendering Hange, Moblit, Eld, Gunter and myself with essentially nothing to do down in the rings of hell. Lucifer himself had packed up and fucked off, leaving his team of demons to swill around in their blood-Jacuzzis, or whatever the fuck demons get up to when the brass isn’t home. Maybe they all whip out trombones and oil the hinges on their oven doors. 

Anyway, the company disposed of all unfinished biological weaponry (all very hush hush, mind,) and placed us on temporary reassignment to another department whilst they figured out what to do with the subs, which had previously been entirely dedicated to the revenue (and jobs) this one client provided. 

“I don’t know.” I was being honest. I hadn’t a fucking clue, maybe in the end they’d make us all redundant, you never know until you get the letter through the post. “Maybe it’s time for a direction change, you know?” I mused aloud, to which Eren seemed to look thoughtful. “What?” I asked. 

“I was thinking…”

“Uh oh, careful. That’s dangerous stuff right there,” I grinned and Eren rolled his eyes, leaning in to rub his nose against mine in an affectionate Eskimo kiss.

“Let’s go dancing again,” he said. Sure, that was way off topic and I wasn’t expecting it. That brat and his ridiculous pinballing thought process. 

“I said I was thinking of a direction change but not in the fucking conversation, what the fuck are you talking about?” I chided with no true spite in my voice.

“You heard me, I was thinking maybe… the flamenco, or the tango!” He says as I slink my hands a little lower, allowing myself to take a good hold of that gorgeously youthful arse of his. 

“You don’t need to leave the house to partake in a little _passionate dancing_ …” I drawled close to his lips, giving his ass a playful squeeze and it earns me a surprised, yet delighted squeal from the brunette. He got the hint and moved his hands to my hips, lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and we proceeded to partake in a little late-morning bed exercises.

\--- 

The next day we’re suited and booted, hand in hand with lanyards around our necks, sat in uncomfortable fold-up seats in an audience of possibly thousands (not including the press, who practically surpassed us all). The convention center we were attending was originally designed for a much lower capacity, but with the months of press coverage and Erwin’s impeccable handling of the situation, it seems the handing over of the baton is being seen as a huge event in the medical world. 

There were presentations from directors and boring high-up medical people, blah fucking blah, and Eren gently rubbed circles into the palm of my hand with his thumb. I’d rather just focus on gazing into his eyes. Jeez, I’d started sounding like such a sap. When the fuck did that happen? 

“Ooh, look Levi,” he says in a hushed tone, those amazing eyes turning away to the platform at the front of the hall. “There he is.”

Erwin takes the stage and does his little speech, which takes about ten minutes, before a slightly older man with a grey beard and broad, meaty bear shoulders steps up from behind him, shaking his hand and effectively becoming my new boss. “So this is the new brass, huh?”

“Guess so,” Eren whispers. We both turn quiet, as we’re both keen to hear what the man has to say. 

“My name is Darius Zackly, and thank you for such an impressive welcome.” There were a few claps from the audience, but otherwise everyone kept quiet. He took out a small pair of glasses and removed his jacket to roll his cuffs up. He runs briefly through the usual ‘where he’s from’s’ and explains his past is in business and law. He keeps it short and sweet and we give applause. Erwin’s blue eyes briefly met mine from the stage, and he fucking winked. _Winked._

Eren asks, “Did Erwin just…?” 

“What the fuck is he up to?” I ask out loud, mainly to myself.

“What do you mean?” 

“He’s up to something, I can see it on that smug fucking face of his.” 

\--- 

I’m at work, hiding in the office away from my team of intelligent morons, when I get a meeting request come through on my calendar. Uh, okay. I get up, return to our slightly smaller, different location and address the team. “Hange, guys. Come on. We all have a meeting at exactly, _and I quote_ , “Right now” o’clock”. 

“Ooh, what’s up?” Hange chirped. “Are we off to see the wizard?!” 

“Please don-” Too late.

“The wonderful wizard of Oz!” she sings loudly. For once it’s not just me wincing from the volume, as Moblit glares at her. I didn’t think he was capable of facial expressions other than meek or mild until now. I’m forever being surprised. 

“I’ll tell Zackly you think he’s Toto-ly awesome.” I say with a completely blank expression.

Hange stops dead in her tracks and furrows her brow, looking at me as if I’d just told her I’d taken a shit on her desk. She abruptly bursts into the most annoyingly loud, obnoxious laugh I had ever heard. “Oh, Levi! Oh don’t do that to me!” she wheezed out, “you’re hilarious!”

“What can I say, I’m _so_ fucking funny.” I deadpan as we make our way to Wonka’s glass elevator. 

There’s a long silence as all five of us wait in the lift. 

“Shitty glasses.” 

“Short stack?” 

“Why did Dorothy scream?” 

She looked confused, but beamed into the most ridiculous grin on the planet. “Pray Levi, do tell!” 

“’Tin Man stepped on her Toto.”

Hange’s laughter barreled right into the face of the opening elevator doors, to which Eren, Armin and a pair of others all got a face full. You could practically see their hair being blown backwards. Comical. 

I raise a hand in a slight wave and Eren comes to stand beside me as we all ride up. 

“You going up top too?” Eren asked curiously. 

“No I’m being escorted around the factory by Willy Wonka here and her head Oompa Loompas,” I gesture to Hange, Moblit, Gunter and Eld. Eren looked a bit confused so I had to gently point out the elevator with a swirl of my finger. 

“Ohhh… I get it. I think.” He didn’t get it. Never mind. We were there now anyway and everyone got out and the boardroom doors were open. Erwin and Darius gestured for the small group to come sit around the wide table, which we did. The large wall-length windows gave an impressive view of the city from where I was sat and we all waited patiently for them to start. Darius began. 

“Good Afternoon, everyone. As you are aware, my name is Darius Zackly and I will be acting as CEO for this company in a few weeks time. I have almost covered everything with Erwin, so his last day will be on my first operational day. Once all loose ends are tied so to speak.”

“Now,” he looked at each of us for a moment. “I called you all up here for a singular purpose. I understand some of you have been out of work due to the loss of a significant client.” Eren nodded for me and Zackly looked at my team before continuing.

“I have thoroughly investigated all of your personal files and deem you all to be of the perfect caliber to form a new department. This is a very exciting opportunity for the business and I hope you will be equally as excited about it as I am. So I won’t hesitate further in providing you with details.” 

“With the significant space now available to us in the basement levels and beyond, I would like to utilize this for a new exclusive, first of it’s kind for the country, incurable diseases research facility.” I instantly looked to Eren, who was fully transfixed by the man’s words. 

“We only need to look at the world’s current rising illness and disease figures to know that we’ve got a huge problem on our hands, so I’ve picked out Sina’s best and brightest. I’ve got big plans for this department. Not only will it create revenue, naturally, but my long-term plan is it will ultimately save lives.” 

“So,” I blurted out, a stony expression on my face. Everyone looked my way. “It’s all well and nice saying how many lives you plan to save, but who’s funding this getup?” Zackly lowered his head slowly to look over his paperwork somewhat and slid a file across the table. I opened it, looked at the figures and returned my attention back to Zackly, who returned my stony gaze equally. 

“Well fuck me sideways.” I grumble out. 

“That would be your _quarterly_ budget.”

“You’re fucking shitting me,” I challenge him, more out of disbelief than actual complaint. He remains silent, returning his gaze to the group after smiling at me fleetingly. That fucker isn’t lying. 

I couldn’t help but wonder what it’d be like working for this new guy, especially with the fuck ton of money we were getting given to play with. He didn’t seem too phased by my filthy mouth, so I suppose we were off to a good start. Like hell was I about to be all prim and fucking proper for this guy. I’d treat him as I would Erwin, with respect but perhaps not politeness. 

I suppose I’ll try anything at least once… _unless_ it’s gonorrhea. 

“There are many years of experience between you all, and there is also great levels of potential here too. So I would like to maximize the assets between you all and have Mister Ackerman run the department, reporting directly to myself. That is of course, should he want it?” He looked at me pointedly, as did everyone else in the room. I simply nodded; I wasn’t about to turn this down. Not with the look on Eren’s face at realizing his dreams and the possibility of me being able to work alongside him in the same cause. 

“I’ll do it.” Regardless of professionalism, Eren tightly gripped my hand and beamed widely. 

“Since it seems we’re all in agreement, and we have our new… elite squad so to speak; I will have the rest of the information emailed over straight away. Expect to begin on Monday.” 

With that, he dismissed us all and we all seemed to leave with an excited bubble around us. I did my best to appear nonchalant and indifferent, but it was difficult to repress a smile with Hange and Eren bouncing off the fucking walls around me, completely buzzing.

I’ll admit, I was excited too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Boners' Chapter up next!


	16. Big, Big Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get 'big' in this chapter alright, if you want to call it Love, so be it. 
> 
> Hurrrr. Have some shameless smut. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**Eren**

As the months passed, the company more or less completely transformed under Zackly’s new reign. With Levi and I’s new jobs (and significantly improved incomes), we managed to find a house not too far from where we were before at my old apartment after Mikasa had enough to afford a place by herself. The apartment Levi had found fell through, but we were glad we’d both chosen this one together. We’d waited for our work to calm down before moving and finally settling in together. The previous owners to the house were carpenters and moved because they ran out of things to renovate. Needless to say the woodwork was absolutely stunning throughout. 

Levi seemed so much happier with each passing day and although I don’t really remember when we started saying ‘I love you’s’, we were honestly smitten for one another. We tended to express our love for one another more through actions over words, although when we did express them in words we couldn’t just leave it at ‘I love you’, there was so much more. Every single one had an extension on _what_ we loved about the other. Our love was an ever-expanding, daily exercise. That and it was super fun, too.

Arguments rarely happened, and issues that came up were spoken about instantly and forbidden from festering. It was so reassuring when Levi had sat me down and deliberately told me he wanted to commit to me completely. He hadn’t mentioned marriage, but I knew he didn’t mean it. He didn’t want a repeat of Petra and his’ relationship. He’d identified what went wrong, and was determined to set it straight with me. In everything he did, I felt appreciated. 

I felt loved. 

When I’d first met Levi he seemed a bit cold, but he’d certainly never been one to shut people out completely. He had a warm heart and was remarkably generous, even if he didn’t always feel comfortable showing it. He’d become so much more expressive lately and I adored it, especially in the bedroom. 

I also have to mention he had the MG painted hot-rod red and he gave it to me for my twenty-third birthday. He was sick of me catching buses, apparently. I literally cried. For hours. Until I realized he’d gone and bought himself a black seventy-four Cuda. Then I was just jealous, but I love the MG and she’s so beautiful in red. That and they sort of look like a little old married couple in the drive. Like Levi and I, minus the old and married parts. 

I couldn’t have wished for a better new life to spend with Levi and I was so glad he was okay now. Which is why today in particular was weird. Like really weird. Levi’s been… _off_. I can’t quite explain or place it.

Like, he's pretty strange anyway with all his weird little quirks like lining up all the bottles in the bathroom by size order, but today he’s just simply not himself. He's overly fidgety, doesn't respond to anything I ask and as soon as he handed me the car keys to his new pride and joy, I knew something was up. I gave him a dumbfounded expression, likely portraying something along the lines of ‘what the actual fuck?’ We’d planned on seeing a movie together to celebrate the new house, but he’s being really closed off for some reason. 

"Are you sure you're not sick?" I asked, trying to glance at him and focus on the road at the same time. It would be understandable for him to be feeling a little bit upset, Petra’s death was just over twelve months ago and we’d just gone through the one year mark of not having her around. 

"Mm-fine just fucking drive and stop being such a little dicksplash" it came out a little rushed and he re-positioned himself in his seat again. Each time we went over a little bump on the road he'd whimper ever so quietly. Maybe I was too rough on him last night? 

Fuck I hope I didn't hurt him and he's just too stoic and proud to admit it. He gives me directions as I drive and I follow them quietly, eventually pulling into a parking lot outside a small, foreign looking cinema in the city’s slightly more run-down area. There were cheesy boards lining the outsides in a bunch of different languages I had no clue what they were. One was a Kurdish film from Iran though, which was cool. I could make out a few of the words on the posters, but was briskly pulled away. 

"You said you'd never sat in an empty movie theatre before" he almost smirked at me, something mischievous glinting in those steely grey-blue eyes of his. Aha, so this is what this is about, he's taking me to see a foreign film. But why the fidgeting? 

"It's not porn is it?" I thought loudly, trying to keep my voice down and looking around to see if anyone could see us entering the cinema. He scoffed and dragged me over to the ticket kiosk, asking the bored looking clerk with a wince for two tickets to their least popular movie. Sure enough we got some weird looks and I'm fairly sure the clerk was left thinking Levi was in need of taking a colossal dump. I shot the clerk an apologetic smile and allowed myself to be hauled off by Levi’s iron grip and long stride. 

Levi ushered me into the theatre and it was huge. How the hell does a place like this even stay open when they run films for 98% of empty seats? Levi drags me up the small stairway up into the dead center of a row, a little towards the back. It was a good view. 

Levi sat down slowly and I sat beside him. The movie started up and it was playing in probably Chinese or Japanese. I never could quite tell the difference. It’s all yapping to me. The special effects were terrible and the acting from the start was just awful, to which we both chuckled at. I glanced to my side over at Levi and he ran his hand shakily through his hair and trembled, to which I whispered, despite the theatre being empty "Levi you're not fine! Let's go home." 

He grumbled and looked over at me. I'm pretty sure it could have been dismissed as an effect of the dim lighting, but I was pretty sure he was _blushing_. He leaned over the armrest and kissed my jaw as he trailed a hand up my thigh, starting to palm at my crotch. This man never ceases to surprise me. 

I looked straight into his eyes and his pupils were already completely blown with lust and desire. How the hell did he get so aroused so quickly? He shifted away and lifted a leg to straddle me, wedging his knees between the seat cushions of the chairs beside my own. The first thing I notice immediately is just how _hard_ he is. “Sen çok seksisin” I mutter out, to which Levi groans and presses against me to kiss me.

Neither of us were paying any attention to the movie by now, feverishly kissing one another and hands trailing up and down bodies. I licked across his bottom lip as I gripped firm just above his hips. He whined and I caught it with my mouth, forcing my tongue in to fight with his. 

“I don’t know what the fuck you just said, but don’t stop” he mewls for me. I grin a little and just as I am about to respond with something even sexier, he rolls his hips slowly, brushing my growing erection against his already rock hard, clothed tent pole. I let out an involuntary moan, sparing a quick glance around the theatre hearing nothing but the blood pulsing through my ears. It’s not like there was anyone else in here, but why did this feel so exciting?

"Eren" he whimpered. It was strange seeing him so desperate, but it shot straight to my dick knowing I was the person who unraveled him into such a lewd state. “Levi, ben çığlık duymak istiyorum” I purred into his ear, putting on as thick an accent as I could as I dipped my right hand below the back of his jeans waistband and worked his belt with my left, giving me the space to slip my right further down. I tucked my hand under his briefs and stopped as soon as I felt it. 

He looked up with me through hooded eyes, his cheeks dusted pink from what I could see in the dim lighting and his glistening lips were parted with heavy breaths. 

"Did you?" He nodded and swallowed hard. Was he nervous? 

"That's probably the sexiest thing you've ever done for me" I growled low into his ear, nipping the lobe between my teeth. He shuddered above me and I gently pushed him back onto his shaky feet. 

"Turn and put your hands on the seat in front, Şu anda Levi," I practically ordered. He nodded obediently and turned, the height of the chair and the slight forward-leaning motion positioning his perfect ass into a prime position. He bit his lip, as he looked me in the eye over his shoulder, quite possibly the most seductive look I've ever seen him give me despite its simplicity. 

“Hah, fuck me already, Eren” he breathed out. I didn’t need to be told twice. He could have not asked and I’d have still fucked him against the cinema seat. 

I tugged down his jeans and boxers and released his hard member to the cool air of the theatre. Every little pant and gasp he'd let escape from those rosy lips would be catalogued by my brain and sent straight to my groin from there. 

I gently parted his cheeks and gave the firm dark plug an experimental tug, twisting and pulling it before plunging it back in. 

"Haah, f-fuck, Eren!" Levi cried out, his voice being muffled by the loud music of the film blaring in the background. His legs almost buckled and I grinned half to myself. 

"How thoughtful of you to prepare yourself for me. You're such a good boy, Levi. Böyle iyi bir çocuk." I never usually used much Turkish unless I was at Duvar talking to Hannes, so it was strange expressing myself with it. It did wonderful things to the man in front of me, so I wasn’t about to protest it. 

I leaned up to stroke the fuzz of his undercut as I gripped the plug and slowly pulled it out of his now gaping hole. I couldn’t wait any longer. He made a keening noise as his entrance twitched slightly at the loss but I was quick to fix that. I shuffled my jeans open, freeing my now painfully hard cock and guided Levi's hips back toward me so that he was sat on my lap. He'd even filled himself with lube beforehand. How thoughtful. ( _Those_ were the loving actions I was talking about.)

"Such a good boy, aren't you?" I purred into his ear as I guided my cock into his slick entrance. It was swallowed straight away with remarkable ease, a strangled cry gurgling from Levi's throat as my tip brushed straight against his prostate. I stilled for a moment, but not for long, since he was already so loose he didn’t need any time to adjust. “Sonsuza dek bu yapabileceğini, Levi” I tell him quietly. 

"Move already, god damn it" he snarled. 

I slowly rocked my hips upwards and Levi rocked his hips back to match my slow pace, groaning and mewling in pleasure. His breathless moans only increased into cries of ecstasy once our pace started to pick up.

I find my mouth hanging open with heavy pants when I feel my cock disappear completely and Levi lowers his chest and head, keeping hold of the chair in front. He proceeds to rotate his hips and bolts of pleasure shoot straight up my spine into the back of my head. I moan shamelessly and throw my head back as a familiar heat starts to pool in the base of my stomach. 

I keep one hand on Levi’s hip and allow the other to trail up his shirt, raking the skin on his gloriously hot back. He bends himself double, almost perfectly in half, spreading his legs and ducking right down between them to grip the fabric of my jeans covering my shins as he continues to ride me, picking up his pace until the only noises I can hear are the throbs of blood pulsing through my ears and the occasional grunt, vulgar squelch or lascivious moan coming from below me. 

"Holy shit Levi" I mutter out. It's amazing how easily he's able to rip the control straight from me without saying a word. Just with the way he uses his incredibly supple body. 

"Levi, fuck I'm close." I tell him in rushed haste. He responded by pulling himself up and lying back flush against me, wrapping his hands around the back of my head and gripping my hair, hard. I snaked a hand around the front of his hips, stroking him in time with my thrusts from beneath. As soon as Levi’s grip on my hair tightened in response to my ministrations, that did it for me and I found my body going rigid as I filled the shorter man's insides with a long and loud, yet intensely satisfied sigh. 

Levi didn’t last much longer. Although he couldn’t ejaculate, he could still have incredible orgasms, and I’d learnt by now that judging by the way his body convulsed slightly, peaking was exactly what it was doing above me.

Levi lay limp on top of me for a moment as we both steadied our breathing, the silence broken only by the noises of some foreign oriental language chattering in the background, and swords clashing. 

“Jesus, Eren” he breathes out a few minutes later as the credits start to roll. 

I gently help him up and to my horror (and possibly arousal?) he plugs himself back up, not allowing barely anything to seep out. I must look mortified in the dim light as Levi stands to turn and look at me with a huge grin on his face. 

“I’ll be saving _that_ for later.” He states simply. I feel the words instantly shoot to my dick and I blush furiously, my ears turning a colour to rival fresh strawberries. Why does this man have to be so fucking surprising and sexy? One minute he’s cool and calm, the next minute he’s springing pre-prepped cinema sex on me out of nowhere. As he always says though, it’s not as if I’m complaining.

Well, I do have one complaint. It seems I’m going to have to drive us back home half-mast. 

However, when we get to the car, judging by the look in Levi’s eyes, it’s not going to stay like that for long.


	17. Gold Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Levi stumbles across an epic scientific breakthrough. 
> 
> Also there's a snowball fight.
> 
> That's basically it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was originally part of the next one, but I cut it here because I thought it made a cute little standalone fluff chapter. Also that means the total will be 21 now. 
> 
> Go read, go enjoy! 
> 
> Much love!

“Are you going to the Christmas due this year, Levi?” Moblit asks. 

“Eh. I don’t really want to, but Eren does, so I get the feeling I won’t have a choice in the matter.” 

Moblit laughs softly and smiles at me. He’s currently going over the team’s current third quarter results with me in our miniature boardroom and I’m helping him review it, set new guidelines and make plans for the next three months and thus, the end of the fiscal year. Our department is performing phenomenally well since Zackly put us together. I’ll hand it to him, he knows how to put a team together, although most of us already worked together, knew one another outside of work or were previously (and still are) fucking before the team was announced. So that all helped. 

“And what does Hange plan on doing about this?” I point something out on one of his graphs and he attempts to explain it. I nod, turning to look at a computer screen to pull up a few reports to cross-reference.

“How is Eren these days?” Moblit casually asks whilst we wait for the document to load. 

“Yeah, he’s really good. Everything has finally calmed down now, so we’re just enjoying not having any shit hit our fans” I let out a soft chuckle and rub the side of my face. Moblit simply smiles at me and nods. 

“How is Hange?” I ask him, with a mischievous glint in my eye, my lips turning up into a smirk. Moblit turns bright red and his eyes go wide with shock. “It’s no big deal, I put two and two together quite some time ago” I assured him. He rubs his neck and smiles sheepishly. I take it the two of them had been seeing one another for a few months by now and it was weird having Hange keep quiet about something, but Moblit seemed a good match for her. He toned her down, she livened him up. Ying and yang and all that bullshit. 

“Yeah, she’s fine. We’re fine,” he says quietly with a little warm smile on his face, still looking no less embarrassed. 

“Rather you than me. I don’t know _how_ you do it.” I tell him with a brief chuckle. 

The document loads and we continue working for another half an hour or so until the door bursts open with Eren and Hange looking absolutely mortified and or amazed. Either way they are excited about something and when you put excitement between these two retards it’s either going to be magnificent or ridiculous. I instantly push my seat back as I stand, thinking the worst that perhaps they’ve killed someone in the lab. 

“What?” I demand in a serious tone. 

Eren looks absolutely shocked and speechless, whereas Hange’s possible state of mortification bubbles into uncontrollable glee. 

“The fuck, morons? What is it?” I urge them to spit it the fuck out. 

“The tests. They came back positive!” Hange whispers with a huge grin on her face. My face drops and I’m pretty sure my jaw does too. This, I have to see. We all leave the room, Moblit too, and head back to the lab. Eren ushers me into a seat in front of a microscope and urges me to look inside. “Levi I can’t believe we did it!” he squeals. I adjust my collar a little and brace myself for what I’m about to see. What will it be? The cure for cancer? What would that even look like? Holy shit I’m nervous for some reason. If they’ve made a major scientific breakthrough, then this could be huge. 

I place my eyes above the microscope and my body stiffens. I can feel the tension in the air around me as the others wait with bated breaths for my reaction. I slowly straighten up away from what I’ve just seen on the petri dish, and slowly swivel on my stool to face them with a blank, menacing look on my face. 

Hange and Eren shriek like little schoolgirls and run away from me as I roll my eyes. The petri dish through the microscope had a solution smeared over the agar in specific locations and allowed to culture into a very visible phrase. I instantly know it's Eren who's written it, as he can't spell for shit. 

_LEVI’S SENCE OF HUMOUR_

“Who the fuck wants to die first?” 

Hange cackles from the opposite side of the lab and hugs Eren, squawking out “We finally found it! Oh god I’m so happy!”

Eren laughs also; “We actually managed to grow it in a lab Hange!” he doubles over, completely in stitches. 

I’ve had years of this by now and I always vowed not to laugh to give them the satisfaction of letting them know it amused me, but this time I do genuinely let myself laugh. “That’s fucking _hilarious_ ,” I tell them in between my chuckles, and they both instantly stop, looking genuinely horrified now as if I’d just fucking killed someone and proceeded to take a shit on top of the corpse. 

I get up and stalk towards the pair and Eren fucking _squeaks_ and hides behind Hange. “Hange I’m too young to die! Save me!” he cries between giggles and snorts. 

The room erupted with guffaws and we essentially all just laughed until our sides hurt. I moved around to Eren to wrap my arms around him and give him a tight hug, kissing him on the cheek.

Once we’re finally able to contain ourselves, I stand, straighten my jacket and return to my usual stony expression, barking for them to “get the fuck back to work” as I drag Moblit back to the boardroom with me with a small smile on my face as soon as my back is turned. 

\--- 

The SinaPharm Research Crimbo party was on a Tuesday night. There was way too many Santa’s for my liking and way too many chicks trying to be sexy elves. Repulsive reds, greens, gold and sparkles and all of these horrific colors all on one sweater. Eren’s, of course. He and Hange match, it’s fucking repulsive. The company had rented out the space in a local, slightly higher end bar and I’m trying my best to avoid every means of human interaction or worst of all, dancing. Don’t get me wrong I love dancing, but not the writhing sweaty bodies type. That shit’s just gross.

Eren on the other hand is doing his best to do the complete opposite and interact with every single person in the fucking room as well as bust out every single dance move he possesses in his (adorably limited) repertoire. At least his sprinkler, lawn mower and running man are top notch. Top notch and oh so funny.

I’ll give him a gold star for the effort. 

What makes it all the more terrifying, is the fact that it’s only an hour into the party and to my knowledge he’s only had two drinks. _How_ he has this much energy sober, I will never understand. Eternal mystery. 

“I’m dating a complete loser,” I mutter to Erwin. He’s still around at Sina every so often whenever anyone needs any support, to which he’s more than happy to provide it. There’s no getting rid of him. Anyway, he’s currently sat next to me sipping some gay-as-fuck rainbow colorful cocktail with swirly orange peel bits in it. What even _is_ that? 

“You compliment each other well.” He simply states. “He’s very…” he pauses to choose his words, taking a sip from his liquid unicorn fart. “Passionate.” 

“You can say that again…” I mutter under my breath. It’s quiet enough and I’m sure the music pretty much blocks it out because he keeps talking. 

“He’s energetic and strong willed, whereas you are…” 

“Choose those next words carefully, Erwin.” I warn him in jest, feigning a threat. 

“You’re a little bit hard to read a lot of the time.” 

“Your powers of observation never ceases to astound,” I deadpan. 

“Am I wrong?”

“Well, I am _little_ ,” to which he laughs loudly, earning us a few looks from out on the dance floor, including Eren. He turns to make over towards us and leaves his colleagues on the dance arena, however he is interrupted by Jean, who is already shit faced. I can’t understand what Jean or Eren are saying, since they’re still halfway across the room and the music is blaring, but Eren looks over to me with an expression that screams _‘help!’_

Enjoying watching him in his painful interaction with his drunken ex, I sit back and grin to myself. I lazily cast my eyes around the room before settling back onto Eren and Jean, where I spot Jean getting a little bit too close for my liking. I’d easily mistake it for drunken dancing if it weren’t for the severely uncomfortable look on Eren’s face and Jean’s hands all over him. I carefully set my drink down and stand, moving quickly over to the pair. 

“Get off me you horse face!” I hear Eren yelp angrily once I’m close enough to hear, as Jean gets a little too grabby, to which I grab hold of his shoulder firmly and spin him around. He looks surprised but that doesn’t beat the look on his face after I land my fist into his jaw, sending him staggering back onto his ass. Eren cries out for me to stop as I move closer to his floored boy for another hit and I stop in my tracks. I look up at Eren who looks just as shocked as Jean, but I can see a hint of relief wash across his face. 

“C’mon, Eren” I say to him, choosing to remove myself from the shit skid on the floor before me and take him with me by the hand. We retreat back to my original seat, which happened to be a small, tucked away table in one of the darker corners of the bar. I pick my drink back up and Eren sits beside me, leaning against my side. 

“He gets like that when he’s had a few…” Eren explains. 

“He didn’t any other time we’ve been out drinking…?” I carefully question. It was true. Jean had never been quite _such_ an asshole as tonight. 

“That’s because Marco was there. I think they’ve had a falling out… hence why Jean is out getting mashed in a Christmas sweater.” Eren laughs slightly and I merely smile as we watch Jean busting out his best drunken two-step with his arms flailing all over the place.

“Hey Levi?” 

“Yeah?”

“Wanna get out of here for a bit?” he asks, keeping his eyes on the dance floor. 

“Sounds like a plan, I’m bored as fuck” I reply. 

Sure we only remained at the party for about a hour and a half, barely enjoyed any of the free drinks and I ended up almost killing Eren’s drunk ex-boyfriend but I was more than ready to rid my life of these terrible Christmas songs and Hange’s insistent nagging for me to “drink more eggnog!” 

I gather my coat and finish my drink and Eren does the same, pulling his jacket on over his ridiculous Christmas jumper. I grimace at the sight of it and Eren flicks me on the nose. 

“The fuck was that for?” I say, flinching away with a scowl on my face. 

“You love this sweater really. Admit it.” 

“The hell I do. That thing could sear the hairs off of Satan’s ass crack by looking alone it’s that fucking hideous.” 

“So hideous, _yet so powerful_ ,” He muses aloud almost wistfully whilst he grins at me ear to ear like the irritating little Cheshire cat he is. I click my tongue in feigned annoyance and link my fingers with his, dragging him out from the bar and into the cold mid December air. The bar is close enough to our place and I didn’t fancy getting the Cuda out in the snow. Like hell am I crashing my new baby because of some fucking black ice. It’s been coming down since this morning and shows no sign of stopping. Looks like we’ll be having another white Christmas this year. 

We separate our hands to pull our gloves on and then re-intertwine them, walking slowly down the iced streets whilst we both carefully watch our steps. We walk past a small deserted park on our way and Eren quickly lets go of my hand and picks up his pace into a slight jog. The fuck is that boy doing? 

“Come on, Levi!” he calls over to me. I roll my eyes again.

“You’re an actual four-year-old, you realize that, right?” I groan painfully, although I’m genuinely amused by his usual youthful spontaneity. 

“Holy shit, Levi! What is that?!” he points just over my shoulder, and in a moment of fucking gullible-ness I fucking look, only to get hit square in the back of the head by a cold as fuck snowball, some of which trickles down the back of my coat collar, making me recoil and shudder uncomfortably. 

“Ah! You little shit!” I yell at him across the deserted playground, a hint of determination now burning in my eyes. I _will_ get him back. 

He’s already started high-tailing it to take cover behind the slide by the time I’ve reached down to pack together a suitable snowball, and I take a shot, hitting him square in the fucking forehead as soon as that pretty little mug re-emerges to check on my location. I let out a loud hoot and point at him shamelessly. 

“Ha! This is war, Eren!” I goad triumphantly. I’m acting like a complete child and I couldn’t give a flying fuck. 

“Who’s the four year old _now_?!” he yells at me, throwing another snowball, which hopelessly misses. 

I duck behind a roundabout and take a moment to pull my hood up and start compacting as many snowballs as I can. Eren on the other hand takes straight to the offense, not allowing me much time to compile a decent stack of ammo, running from the slide and making snowballs to immediately throw as he attempts to get closer without getting hit from my occasional warning shot. 

Before I know it he’s on the other side of the roundabout, giggling like a kid and I’m doing my best to exhaust everything I’ve got in an all-out salvo. Eren realizes I have far much more ammo than him and he retreats behind a bench nearby. This is fucking hilarious. 

He dusts his coat and gloves off which had started to collect lumps of snow, shimmying the remnants of the snowball I just lobbed at his collar out from his shirt. I silently laugh to myself, claiming victory for myself. 

“What’s the matter, Eren?” I tease him from across the small park. He’s awfully quiet right now for a loudmouth. I decide to pack up a few more snowballs, a little bigger than normal and duck down and try to sneakily scurry towards the bench I can see him crouched behind. Ha, I doubt he’s seen me, I thought to myself as I ducked behind the opposite side of the bench. Now to just sneak up behind him and- 

“Fuck!” I yelp loudly, feeling an absolute monster amount of snow come crashing down over my head, neck and shoulders. That fucker must have been packing together a huge one because it feels fucking massive. I have snow literally everywhere. From where I was leant forwards I can even feel icy melting water trickling down my fucking ass crack. I’m gonna be soaked by the time we get home. 

I duck my head down and try my best to shake what I can off before it melts and I end up having to concede defeat on this one. I look up at Eren with a downright murderous look in my eye and he tries in vain to make a break for it, failing horribly as I pounce from the ground and tackle him to the snowy ground. 

After getting him to the ground, I start pulling fluffy snow from both sides of Eren’s head and rubbing it all over his neck, face and chest. He’s all arms, and squeals and squeaks, flailing and trying to stop me but I do not yield. I swear I’m not a sadist, but I did sort of enjoy it. A lot. I only stop to pull my leg over to straddle his stomach and I grab his wrists and pin him to the snow below. I lean over him as menacingly as I can, now having him under control, and we stare into each other’s eyes as if challenging one another. We’re both a little short of breath and the cold air is nipping at our exposed noses and cheeks. 

Eren’s eyes flicker away from mine, to my lips, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. I lean down, loosening my death grip on his wrists and cupping his face as our mouths move against each other heatedly. A few long moments pass and my now wet knees are starting to feel the cold through my jeans and I’m sure Eren’s back is freezing. He moves his arms down and wraps them around my back, hugging me against him as we slowly but passionately kiss, lying in the snow. 

Once we break apart, our lips now significantly warmer and the rest of us significantly colder, Eren smiles at me and he kisses the tip of my cold nose. 

“I think I love you more than I love making yellow snow.” I tell him with a smirk playing at the corners of my lips. 

“How romantic.” He says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He leans up to kiss me again and purrs against my lips, “I love you too, Levi”


	18. I'll Build You A Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What time is it?"  
> "Christmas time! Now get the fuck up."

Fast forward to the end of the next week and it’s Christmas morning. Eren is lying next to me, facing away as I curl my arms around him and spoon him from behind. We usually fall asleep with him as big spoon, and he’ll often move about in his sleep and wake up as the little one. I’m not complaining, as I hate hot smelly bed breath on my neck first thing in the morning. 

I grin to myself as the grogginess of sleep fades and I remember what day it is. I carefully extract myself from the sleeping Eren, whom I’d managed to loosen up with a bit of dancing in the living room last night, so he’s still out cold. The sun isn’t up yet which means I’ve got plenty of time. I briefly question myself why I’m putting so much effort into pleasing _him_ on _my_ birthday, but override the thought with how hilarious his expression is going to look when it happens. 

_A few hours later…_

“Eren, get the fuck up you piece of shit.” 

I’m stood on the bed over the top of him. I give him a good little kick just for good measure, and partly just because I can. I swear I’m not a complete sadist. He groans and curls into a little ball, trying to shield himself with the duvet and his pillow. I take a wobbly step back on the mattress, trying to not fall flat on my ass and like someone would whisk a tablecloth from beneath the settings, I rip the sheets from off the top of him and fling them off to the floor behind me, still standing above him. 

“Ugh, Levi! Muhh, five more minutes!” he whines, curling up even more and trying to stay warm. 

“Get up. It’s fucking Christmas. Do you want presents or not?” I ask him, resting my hands on my hips. He stirs and uncurls, flopping onto his back and sighing loudly. “Also I’m pulling the birthday card today, which lets me do whatever the fuck I want for one day of the year, and I’m combining it’s power with the Christmas card.” Perfectly legit excuse for being an annoying little gobshite. 

“What time is it? He asks as he yawns. He’d better be careful with how wide he opens that mouth of his… I may just have to fill it with some of my… Christmas _log_.

“Christmas time,” I state bluntly, with not so much as a smile on my face as I dismount the bed and strut out of the room and down the hall. I call back behind me loudly “get the fuck up and take a fucking shower before coming out here! You stink!” 

\--- 

**Eren**

Levi is being an annoying ‘turd’ today, as he would call it. I guess he’s allowed though, since it’s his birthday and all. Christmas day is when I’m supposed to be able to sleep in until at least midday. What time is it now? I lean over to look at the bedside clock and it reads six in the morning. Levi really is like a little kid on Christmas. He seems to prefer the Christmas part to his birthday part. I roll out of bed and run a hand through my messy hair as I walk over to the bathroom. 

I pick out a fresh towel and catch a whiff of something cooking. It smells great whatever it is. It smells like onions frying. After my shower I dry off and slip into a pair of red boxers and a pair of green socks, since it seems fitting.

Having been significantly woken up by my shower, I pad down the hall to the kitchen and stop in the doorway, leaning against the frame as I watch Levi cook. He’s got The Mama’s and the Papa’s playing and he’s singing along to _California Dreaming_ as he’s flipping what look like omelets. He’s got a packet of chorizo on the side as well as a chopping board out with some cut pieces of red onion, garlic, chili and peppers. The hob is surrounded by little jars of spices and there are little specs of turmeric dotting the counter where he’s rested the spoon. It’s a mess. 

After my stomach registers and digests that food is imminent, my eyes finally catch up and realize that he’s wearing an apron whilst he’s cooking. 

And nothing else.

I allow myself the luxury of being able to admire his well-sculpted buttocks and the backs of his thighs. The way his calves tense and flex a little bit as he leans up onto his tiptoes to reach the pepper in the cupboard. Oh and that glorious back and those shoulders. If I weren’t so hungry I’d have a raging boner right about now thinking about all the things I’d like do to him, like wedging my cock right between those-

“If you’re quite done eye-fucking me, my face is up here, Eren.” He says and waves a stick of chorizo at me. I didn’t even notice him turn to look at me, but my cheeks flush slightly at having been caught staring. He doesn’t help my almost-erection when he casually licks up along the sausage and gives the tip a slight suck, smacking his lips in satisfaction before swiping his tongue along them, seductively pulling at his bottom lip with his teeth. As soon as he switches the smolder on, it’s straight back off again and the sausage is being chopped up and diced. 

I take my cue to pad over to him and wrap my arms around his waist (over the apron, it’s a bit early yet,) and cuddle up against his back as he returns to cooking. 

“Looks and smells amazing, Levi.” 

“It’ll be done in a few minutes.” 

“I meant you,” I purr into his ear, giving his lobe a little nip before kissing his neck just below the ear. I feel him shudder beneath my arms and I gently rub my hips against his suggestively. 

“Horny brat, get the fuck off. They’re done.” He snaps as he shrugs me off. 

I grin mainly to myself and rest against the kitchen counter as he plates up our omelets. He’s even steamed some broccoli and fresh greens to go alongside them. I have no idea how he does it, but he’ll never use many ingredients and yet his meals are always ridiculously delicious, and healthy to boot. 

I moan in sheer pleasure as the first slice enters my mouth. “This is how to start a Christmas” I say in-between mouthfuls. 

“What, with a bit of hot sausage?” I snicker slightly at his comment and he smiles crookedly before taking another bite. “Shouldn’t it be you making me breakfast? It’s my birthday after all.” He carries on with a challenging look in his eyes. He’s right; I should be the one cooking for him. I stop chewing and I frown, but Levi’s hand stroking my cheek brings me back from the shoulda-woulda-coulda’s starting to run through my mind. 

“Don’t sweat it. There’s something I want you to do for me today anyway.” He says cryptically, to which I narrow my eyes in suspicion. 

“What is it?” I say as I polish off the remainder of my greens. Levi waves a forkful of omelet at me before eating it and telling me it’s a secret. He’s up to something. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

“Please don’t make me dress up like Santa…” I tell him with a grin on my face. 

“Tch. Please. I have more taste than that.” 

“So it involves dressing up.”

“I cannot confirm, nor deny that statement at this stage in the process.” He tells me, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. 

“So it does.” 

He pauses to chew the rest of his breakfast before washing it down with a sip of water. “Let’s go exchange gifts?” 

“Good idea.” 

We move over to the sofa after washing up, drying and putting everything away and I scurry off to the bedroom to retrieve my gifts for him. I bought him two completely separate presents, and wrapped one in regular paper and the other in the tackiest, sparkliest Christmas paper I could find. The quality of the wrapping is terrible. A toddler could have done better. Oh well, it’s wrapped and you can’t see what it is, so I guess that’s all that matters. 

I return to the living room and thankfully he’s sat in a bathrobe rather than an apron. I don’t know how much more distracting he can get. He’s got two boxes set before him on the table. One is a shallow, square shape and the other is a long, tie-box shape. They are just black boxes. Neither are wrapped. I set myself down beside him and he lowers the music a little with the remote as I cross my legs on the sofa. 

“Did you get a unicorn to personally shit those out for you?” he glares at the bundle of sparkles in my lap, looking thoroughly unimpressed. On the outside he likes to take the piss, but I can tell he’s curious as to their contents. 

“Maybe.” I tease. 

“Alright, here. Open this one first.” He passes me the shallow square shaped box. I give it a little shake but I don’t hear anything, so I look for a way to open it and it pops open at the side so I turn it to face me as I open it. Inside is a beautiful pendant and chain. It’s a simple gold all over but the pendant is in the style of an ornate key and is roughly three inches long. “Ooh” I hum as I delicately remove it from its case. Levi holds his hand out and I pass the ends of the chain to him, leaning forward for him to fasten it around my neck. 

Once the cool metal is situated against my chest, I pick up the pendant and look at it, realizing it’s engraved. I tilt my head a little to read it and I read it out loud. “To my brat, Love Levi” I can’t help but smile and pull Levi into a tight hug, kissing his cheek. “I love it.” I tell him sincerely. 

After letting him go and spending a few minutes simply admiring the piece of jewelry, I blink in realization before asking him “What do you want first, Levi? Christmas or Birthday?” 

“Surprise me.” 

“Alright, here.” I hand him the Christmas one. It’s a fairly big box and he takes it and carefully gives it a shake. It rattles satisfyingly before he picks at the mess of tape at the sides. He finally makes it through and pulls out a non-descript cardboard box and opens it. His face lights up as he pulls out a small plastic box which looks like it’s from the eighties, inside is twenty blank cassettes. He sets them aside and rummages a little deeper, pulling out a piece of electronic kit that is, according to the site I bought it from, is meant to transfer CD’s and playlists to cassette. He grins broadly and sets them both on the table, pulling me over into a chaste kiss. 

“So now we can make those famous mix tapes you hear about in the movies,” I tell him, to which he simply grins. 

“Thank you, Eren. This is great.” 

“Well, do you want your birthday gift now? It’s sort of related.” I tell him sheepishly, unable to keep the grin from my face. He’s mentioned a vintage car weekend early this year that interested him, but he’d never managed to go and showcase the Cuda or MG. It’s essentially where you take all your old cars, do a little bit of racing around an old racing track and dress up like you’re from the forties. I looked it up myself and despite not being big into cars, I thought it looked like absolute fun, so I waited months for the tickets to become available and then I managed to get us a pair. A complete hospitality day at the vintage races. 

I hand him the plainly wrapped box, which is rather large for it’s contents. He stares at it and picks it up, looking genuinely surprised at how lightweight it is. He furrows his brow in confusion and unwraps the first layer, revealing a box with a stereo system on it. His own stereo system to be precise. 

“Uh, Eren?” he looks at it, confused until he realizes it’s _his_ box, to which he opens it and it reveals another box, this one for the smaller hand-blender we have, again his. He chortles softly as he unwraps layer upon layer of wrapped and re-wrapped boxes until it gets so small he’s simply holding a square envelope. 

“The fuck Eren, is there actually anything in here?” he asks through a laugh as he tears the envelope open and pulls out a birthday card. I simply sit there with my legs crossed and smile at him, waiting for his reaction. He opens up the card and the two tickets fall out on his lap. Before reading what the card says he picks them out of his lap and studies them. His eyes go wide and he beams as he goes to read what the card says. It’s nothing special but he’s still smiling, which is great. 

“Eren…” he’s holding a hand against his mouth in surprise and borderline giddiness. 

“I know it’s in like, September next year, but happy birthday, Levi.” I tell him. 

“Well this makes the next gift look like shit.” He mutters. I frown slightly and he sets his card and tickets aside and pushes against my shoulders, positioning his knees to my sides and sitting on my thighs. My back hits the sofa since now I’m lying down and my hands move to rest atop his legs. 

“Thank you Eren. I have one more gift. This one is more from myself to myself, but I’d like for you to open it for me.” He purrs up against me as he leans down to press his chest against mine. As he moves I hook my hands around the backs of his thighs just under the bathrobe and from what I can feel he’s wearing nothing underneath.

He leans up and brushes his lips against mine. I can feel the slight tingle from the chili in his breakfast earlier this morning but it’s not too unpleasant. I taste the same, after all. We part only when I feel a cool box placed on my chest. It’s the one from the table I spotted earlier. I carefully take hold of it and look it over from my lying position as Levi sits back up and scoots a little further up, slowly and teasingly brushing his crotch above my own. 

I flick the box open and due to the shape I briefly imagine it’s a wand inside. My eyes widen and it hits me as Levi carefully plucks the object from the box and pushes the box out of my hands and onto the floor. He runs the small tip of soft, cool leather down my bare chest as my hands find his ass and I grin wickedly. As soon as my hands reach their desired location however, I feel a sharp crack on my left nipple and yelp out in pain. 

Levi twirls the riding crop around his fingers a little and smirks down at me. “Bad boy. Did I say you could touch?” He drawls, leaning in close again to stroke my cheek with the end of the crop as his other hand drifts below the waistband of my boxers. He peppers my neck with soft, open-mouthed kisses and it tickles a little since he’s not shaved in a couple of days. I didn’t think it was possible but with a little stubble, he appears to become even _more_ attractive. 

I can’t focus on his kisses for long however, as the hand down my boxers takes a hold of the base of my quickly hardening manhood and begins to slowly stroke up and down the length. I let out a groan and try to muffle my voice with the back of my arm. _Crack!_

“Haa! Levi, what the fuck!” I cry as my right nipple is struck this time, harder than the last hit. He gives me a particularly firm squeeze downstairs and I let out a deep groan. Levi pulls himself up to kiss me again and presses his thumb against the pre-come collected at my tip, swirling it around to provide some lubrication. I gasp as a jolt of pleasure shoots up my spine and a familiar heat begins to pool in my lower abdomen. Once I gasp, Levi forces his tongue past my lips and teeth, taking complete control as he forces me to kiss him. And boy, do I let him.

He pulls away, not once stopping his slow ministrations and a small string of saliva connects us before he shuffles down lower, settling his head between my legs with my knees over his shoulders. I move my hands up above my head, resting my hand against my mouth, biting into it slightly to muffle a moan.

“Don’t you dare hold that pretty little voice of yours back, Eren,” He warns me as he tugs my boxers just down enough to free my painfully hard cock. I see spots for a moment as Levi swirls his tongue over the head and bobs down onto it, hollowing out his cheeks. He sucks hard and pulls off with a lewd pop. His lips are slightly red and his cheeks are dusted with a soft pink flush. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one doing this to you, Levi? It’s your birthday after all” 

“What can I say” he starts, “you have a beautiful cock Eren, I can’t keep myself off it.” 

His words shoot straight to my crotch and he seems to notice me twitch in his grasp. God I love it when he talks like that. I let out another low groan as he places his lips against the tip and keeps his mouth as tight as he can as he slowly swallows me again. I toss my head back into the sofa and let out a loud, brazen moan as he whips me across the chest again with the end of the riding crop. His eyes don’t leave my face once, and it takes all I have to not come down his throat there and then. 

“Haah, Oh god, Le-” The way he moves up and down, twirling his tongue around the tip, bobbing down and sucking all the way back up is getting me worked up rapidly. The heat pooling in my stomach begins to grow and I can’t help but crave for release.

I quickly move my hands to his shoulders, pleading for him to stop before it’s too late. “Levi, stop- I’m-!” He quickens his pace before firmly gripping the base of my cock and pulling off completely and slipping a thin finger into my entrance suddenly. I gasp and the feeling of the intrusion mixed with my so close yet so far orgasm is deafeningly painful. I attempt to curl my fingers around anything for some hold, although I find nothing. 

Levi keeps a strong hold on the base of my cock whilst he works his finger in and out, lewdly looking up at me through dark, storm-grey hooded eyes as he dribbles a long strand of saliva down onto his hand which is currently working my ass. For something quite disgusting, he makes it look so damn sexy. I clench my eyes shut as I feel the cool liquid touching my perineum and oozing down to mix with a second finger. Thankfully he doesn’t torture me for long, or flex his fingers more than needed, because as soon as he’s prepped me to a bare minimum, he removes himself completely, sitting back on the sofa, crop in hand. 

Dumfounded, I stare at him through a thick fog of lust. “W-what. Why did you? Huh?” 

“For my birthday, Eren. I want you to ride me.” He snaps the end of the crop into his palm. I flinch slightly and gulp at the sight as the shivers travel up and down my spine. I shakily push myself up whilst Levi adjusts himself comfortably on the sofa with his legs propped up on the coffee table, and I pull a leg over, sitting into his lap with my heavy arousal resting against his now bare abs. He’s opened up his robe to reveal his perfectly lithe body, and I revel at the thought of being able to call it mine. 

I haven’t a clue where from, but he seems to have obtained a bottle of lube from somewhere and he slicks himself up before guiding himself in line with my slightly loosened entrance. If it’s uncomfortable for me, it must be painfully tight for Levi. His mouth hangs open ever so slightly as his breathing rate increases as I lower myself down inch by slow inch. Once I’m fully seated on top of him, we take a pause to adjust whilst languidly kissing one another. 

It’s slow, sensual and almost sweet until I feel a sharp pain sting across my thigh. That fucking crop! I growl a low animalistic moan and start moving up and down above him. As our pace increases it occurs to me that I’m not going to last particularly long, and Levi abandons his crop in favour of threading his fingers around the back of my neck and into the hair at the base of my skull above the nape of my neck. 

We get into a pretty good rhythm, him thrusting up beneath me and I using my weight above him to drop down. We’re panting heavily, grunting, groaning and making plain lewd whines upon every thrust, especially once he starts pounding into my prostate, sending white-hot, rampant pleasure up and down my entire body. 

Before I can let any other noises out, Levi is thrusting more sporadically into me from below and his hands tighten their grip in my hair as I arch my back, curl my toes and involuntarily project spurts of hot white across both of our chests as we writhe against one another’s hot, sweaty bodies. 

Levi’s face clenches in pleasure as he quickens his thrusts and I feel him spilling inside me with hot, thick globules. 

We lie against one another, breathing heavily and completely spent. Levi goes limp on the sofa beneath me and I bury my face into the crook of his neck whilst the rest of my body flumps over him in a boneless pile. 

Between heavy pants, Levi gently pushes me back enough for him to be able to slowly kiss me. It’s brimming with passion, but it doesn’t feel so heated. I rest my hands on his shoulders and start to feel him going soft inside me, so I gently pull my leg over and off of him for so we can clean ourselves up. 

“Since we’ve got everyone and their mothers coming over later, I figured I’d get you out of bed and up sooner rather than later to have you ‘coming over’ early.” He states, clearly pleased with his own word play. I grin a little and groan at its mildly amusing terribleness. 

“Did you just call me a premature ejaculator?” I ask, feigning a hurt look. 

“That. Was round _one_.” 

“Bring it on!” 

\--- 

We’ve got the week after Christmas all to ourselves, and I inform Levi I’ve made plans for New Year’s, and invited both sides of our friend groups. I cryptically tell him it’ll be a New Year we’ll never forget, and he calmly reminds me of how drunk I got last year, mounting a table with a tie around my forehead singing loudly to a _horse with no name_ , half in Turkish, and I scoff at him, folding my arms, strongly arguing how this year will be _different_. He’ll believe me when he sees it. 

So when the day arrives, it’s nearing about six in the evening and I start to get nervous as we’re getting showered, groomed and dressed for the party. It’s at the Turkish grill, and I’ve got Hannes to set out a big table for us on the decking out back so we have a perfect view of the valley with all of the city’s central firework displays that will be scheduled to happen throughout. Not to mention however much Raki we can drink, will be on the house. 

File in Erwin, Hange, Moblit, Mike, Sasha, Connie, Jean, Marco, Mikasa, Armin, Eld, Gunter, Ymir, Christa, the whole gang! I never realized how huge a table for sixteen people is. We pretty much occupy the entire decking out back with a small table for nibbles and punch. There is a sheltered pool table out here now, which is great. Levi and I spend most of our evening there, shooting a few balls and occasionally chatting with whoever make their way over. 

I link my arm around Levi’s waist as it draws nearer to midnight, keeping my free hand nestled inside my jeans pocket, nervously twiddling my fingers around it’s contents. Ugh, I know we’ve had the conversation before, many times, and we both know this is going to happen, but I’m still nervous. It’s not a nervousness caused from a fear of rejection to what he may say, but more out of excitement that I’m struggling to contain as I wait for the seconds to tick by faster. 

A few more conversations and drinks and I’m a little more loose now so I start feeling a little less nervous and a whole lot more confident. Levi is actually laughing and smiling around all the others, which indicate he’s probably a little bit tipsy, himself. I love watching him smile. I could ignore all the conversations in the world if it meant I got to watch this man smile. It’s like sighting a rare bird which has been breeding, being sighted more and more and although more common these days, still just as magnificent as if it were dying off. 

I sigh with content and give Levi’s side a little affectionate squeeze, to which he leans into my side a little bit, resting the side of his head against my shoulder. 

I get distracted by Hange shouting to us all telling us we’ve got ten minutes, and she proceeds to give me the world’s least subtle wink, to which I cringe a little on the inside. It only serves to remind me what I’m about to do. I’m not prepared to wait another year, so I’m making this the very first thing I do on the new calendar. 

I take Levi’s hand and pull him excitedly over to where the others are sat at the table. They’ve all re-positioned their chairs into a huge semi-circle so we can watch the fireworks, and I guide Levi just off to the side to the hand railing overlooking the city’s valley. It feels like all eyes are on us, and it seems Levi’s none the wiser, so I grin to myself and check my watch. 

Everyone starts to count down, loudly loosened by the drinks and festivities. 

_Ten! Nine! Eight!_

I give Levi’s hand a little squeeze before letting go of it. 

_Seven, Six, Five!_

I tuck my hand into a pocket and notice Hange closing the doors to the patio, blocking off any soon-to-be noise coming from inside the bar, leaving it as just us sixteen outside on the decking. 

_Four, three!_

Everyone goes completely quiet and stops counting. 

_Two one!_

Levi looks down at me, having lowered myself to one knee and holding out a small closed black box, his eyes wide as saucers as the air fills with distant shouts and further fireworks.

It’s clear all of our friends are quietly watching, so I clear my throat and tell him, “Levi, we’ve been together quite some time now, and we’ve been to hell and back along the way…” 

Levi scoffs a little and his eyes dart out towards all our friends over his shoulder, before visibly swallowing, his Adam’s apple bobbing. 

“I’ll make this quick, ‘cause I know you don’t like huge displays of public affection…” 

Levi is already nodding. I can tell he’s holding back from telling me to hurry the fuck up and ask already, so I decide, out of my own sense of anticipation and excitement, to indulge him. 

“Marry me Levi.” 

I flick the box open and he looks over his shoulder again, as if asking everyone either for permission or for them to fuck off, I’m not quite sure which. Either way he holds his hand out and smiles at me softly. 

“I thought you’d never ask”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently writing up the final three chapters. We're almost at the end, mon amigos!


	19. The Way To Emmiline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scene that inspired the entire fic. 
> 
> I am so sorry for this chapter. 
> 
> SO SORRY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Certain tags come into effect from here onwards. 
> 
> Also remember how I said I had 70k planned? Lols. Look how that went. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**Levi**

Where the hell did these shitty butterflies in my stomach come from? It’s like they’re having a fucking insect derby down there, racing through loops of cartilage and soft stomach tissue and whatever the fuck I just ate. I don’t remember eating any caterpillars lately. Although what was it we just ate? Turkish? Hell, for all I know they _could_ have used caterpillars. 

Also, why do I look so fucking surprised? It’s not like this is a wild card being pulled out on me. We’ve been together for just under two years now and living together for well over a year of that. We’ve talked about this, but it’s still sending shivers down my spine having it actually happen. It’s kinda like the difference between talking about going bungee jumping and actually going and doing it. 

Eren clears his throat “Levi?”

The next logical movement would be to look at him, so I do. Well done, Levi, you’re off to a good start. The other people around us make small gasps and I can see them grinning ear-to-ear from the corner of my eye. Especially shitty-glasses and commander eyebrows. 

Focusing my attention on my loser- ahem, _lover_ , his eyes are so full of tenderness that I can’t look away from those beautiful sea-green orbs. I try to reign back in my stoic expression, so it seems like I’m less excited about what’s to come than I actually am. On the inside, I’m a kid on Christmas-fucking-morning. ‘Present’ the goods then, I think to myself. Oh I’m so funny. Punny. Ha. I see what I did there. Oh shit he’s talking- 

“We’ve been together quite some time now…” he swallows, clearly nervous, and I have to hold back every bone in my body to stop myself from screaming ‘yes!’ into his face and consequently the rest of the restaurant. He continues “…and we’ve been to hell and back along the way.” I scoff out a little snort of amusement. Understatement of the year award? Please give it to Eren Yeager. Thanks universe. 

“I’ll make this quick, ‘cause I know you don’t like huge displays of public affection…” 

My head nods on repeat. Hurry the fuck up already. 

“Marry me Levi.” It wasn’t a question. The little shit knows me too well. 

“I thought you’d never ask…” I purr playfully, smiling at him as I extend my hand. 

I’d once wondered what this moment would feel like when it actually happened. Looking back it would seem everything went by in a blur. It’s hard to distinguish where my stoic expression ended and my twelve-year-old schoolgirl squeal started emerging from the darkest depths of my gay little soul. 

He beams at me and takes the ring from its box and slides it onto my waiting finger as he stands. It’s long overdue, so I firmly grab his shirt before he has time to completely straighten out and quickly pull him into a crushing kiss. There are about fourteen hands clapping and everyone is cheering. This all comes as a secondary awareness to the fact I can feel the blood pumping through my ears, my heart beating a million miles a minute. I can also feel the way Eren’s is practically doing the same as I hold my hands to the sides of his face whilst we finish off our kiss, not particularly caring that we’ve got an audience. I love this man so fucking much it actually hurts right now. 

Just when I spared a fleeting thought to the fact that the evening couldn’t get _any_ better, the universe proved me wrong. It _could_ get better, and it did. 

As soon as we parted, from the corner of my eye I notice a woman in a hooded jacket with blonde hair storming through the restaurant, shoving people out of the way on the dance floor and straight up to the door of our patio. She slides the door open, walks briskly up to us and I get just enough of a look to realize she’s holding a gun and pointing it at Eren; point blank range. Other people from inside the restaurant have noticed too and are running and shouting. All of our friends surrounding us are in shock for a split second. She hesitates to speak in a shaky voice, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“You! _You_ took him from me, so… I’m going to take _him_ from you!” Her short speech gives me all the time I need to shove Eren out of the way in the split second before the gun goes off. 

\--- 

What happens next? 

Fuck, how do I even _begin_ to describe it? 

First of all, there was the most incredible, shocking impact and I am sent flying. Like, holy fucking shit. There was simultaneously a feeling as if a small explosive just went off inside of my chest, and I felt what could only be the bullet tumbling through my chest cavity and rib cage. It felt like I was thrown back a good four feet, possibly more, as I toppled Eren over onto the floor behind the table. 

Eren has a panicked and frightened look on his face as he pushed me gently off him and onto my back, pressing a table napkin to the, what feels like a searing hole, on my chest. I can hear a lot of screaming. Is that screaming? Why do you all have to be so fucking _loud_? Jesus fucking Christ, people. 

The pain in my chest gets stronger and I feel my right lung begin to squeeze. My breaths become agonizingly painful and my vision starts turning white, my eyelids growing ridiculously heavy. 

“Eren” I murmur through the scorching pain as what remains of my vision begins to slow due to the intense release of adrenaline into my bloodstream. “Don’t cry,” I say as I try to gently stroke his cheek but the movement causes my entire right arm to explode in the most excruciating pain I’ve ever experienced. When did my hand get so bloody? Eren grips it tightly and holds it against his cheek, his other hand pressed against my chest. It’s warm. His arms and chest are nice and warm. A kind of comforting warmth where you just feel wrapped up and safe. 

“Eren” I wheeze out so quietly I doubt he can hear it. “I’ll take you dancing again sometime soon, yeah?”

“Call a fucking ambulance!” He yells to no one in particular. The tears are streaming from his oceanic eyes without abandon. 

It must have only been about fifteen seconds or so from spotting the woman, but I vaguely recall Eren saying he loves me, and to not fall asleep, but his warmth is too soothing and inviting, so as I bleed out onto the floor in front of my fiancé, I close my eyes to the comforting blackness of unconsciousness.

\--- 

**Eren**

What can only be a gunshot, erupts in front of me, ringing through my ears and I’m suddenly thrown backwards by a heavy weight. My back collides painfully with the railing behind me and I’m lying on the floor with a very warm back on top of me. What is that? Wait. No. _No_ …!

“No no, no no no. No! Levi!” I gently give Levi a shake and he doesn’t immediately respond to me, so I roll him off of my chest and onto his back. The first thing I feel is the warmth still all over my chest. I look down and all I see is red. My shirt is drenched with blood, and I instantly know it’s not my own. Levi’s eyelids are flickering as his whole body shudders, redness enveloping his entire chest and onto the floor. 

I look up and around, managing to grab a large wad of napkins, ripping his shirt open and pressing them against the source of the blood. I try to not have the image seared into the backs of my eyes for the rest of time, but I fail horribly. The short glance I do get of his wound is absolutely awful. He’s got a two inch-wide, angry looking hole buried right under his right nipple, and it’s oozing blood profusely. 

I look up and scream hysterically for someone to call an ambulance, keeping the pressure on his chest. I spot Mike tackling a blonde woman to the floor and she doesn’t seem to be putting up a fight. Everyone is panicking and half of our friends seem to have vanished somewhere. I can’t tell with all of the chaos and moving bodies and yelling. 

I turn back to Levi when I hear him mumble my name and I can’t stop the tears falling from my eyes. He tells me not to cry and that he’d like to take me dancing again, but I can only sob, holding his bloody hand against my cheek tightly whilst I keep as much pressure on his chest as I can. 

I yell out for an ambulance again as I sob uncontrollably. “Levi, don’t fall asleep, okay? Stay with me. I love you Levi, you can’t leave me.” My sobs go unnoticed as Levi goes limp beneath me, his head flopping to the side and his eyes turning back into their sockets as his eyelids clamp shut. 

I start screaming for someone to help. 

It must have only been about six or seven minutes since getting toppled over, but I start to hear sirens and soon enough, perhaps two or three minutes later, Levi feels completely still beneath me and a pair of strong hands pull me away, much to my disliking, allowing room for two paramedics with their equipment. Covered in Levi’s blood, I crumple to my knees, clinging at whomever it is that’s just pulled me away from him, sobbing loudly onto the fabric of their trousers as I grip their shirt. 

I begin to hear a loud thumping noise. It reverberates over the top of every scream, yell and heavy footstep. I find myself partially dazed for the moment, as the entire outdoor decking area is flooded with a harsh, bright light and the most bizarre gusts of wind cascade across the tables and chairs, throwing napkins out over the balcony into the valley and knocking over champagne glasses. The thumping noise becomes much louder and paired with the intense gusts of wind coming from above, it occurs to me that there is an air ambulance hovering above us, slowly lowering its way closer. 

I quickly get a hold of myself and turn rapidly back to my feet, over towards the paramedics on the ground near Levi. Erwin’s voice snaps me out of it though and my heart sinks when I see them pressing a defibrillator against his chest. I can’t do anything except cry and Erwin’s arms pull my back against his chest, keeping me at a distance. The paramedics are moving Levi onto a gurney and I overhear one of them say there’s a pulse, to which a little fragment of my shattering world gets pieced back together. 

“Is he going to be okay?” I desperately ask as I try to pull away from Erwin’s grasp, but they are too focused on keeping him alive it would seem, to be able to answer me. A third paramedic appears and I rip free of Erwin’s hold to dart over to him “Can I come with him? Please?” I beg. “I’m his fiancé,” I add in haste. The paramedic darts his attention between Levi, the two paramedics moving him and the helicopter above before nodding, gesturing to the other two to make space in the carrier which had been lowered. It looked big enough to carry a gurney and three people. 

“You’d better make it _damn_ quick. Your fiancé doesn’t have long,” he tells me. 

I let them get the gurney with Levi strapped into place positioned first before I clamber in quickly, taking a firm hold on the handles as we begin to lift towards the chopper. I nervously glance over my shoulder towards the shrinking scene as I take hold of Levi’s hand. 

The lights are flashing, the doors are shut and I catch a very quick glimpse of the very worried and shocked faces of Mikasa, Armin, Hange and Erwin as they watch us leave their views. Once we’re fully lifted and positioned into the back of the spacious helicopter, and it begins to tilt and move forward, the paramedics work to keep Levi alive. 

During the trip, Levi seems to stir in and out of consciousness. In the short time span they have with him semi-awake, they test him for movement in his limbs before one says to the other “no signs of spinal injury” and the other nods and confirms the bleeding has stopped. 

I simply watch, paralyzed and unable to do anything other than keep hold of Levi’s hand and mumble reassuring phrases now and then. “You can do this, Levi. Be strong for us” I tell him, unaware of whether he can hear me. The paramedic tells me to keep reassuring him, so I do. 

Levi groans in pain and it sounds a little bit wet and he gurgles, blood oozing from his mouth and nose. I’m terrified at this point, my face paling of it’s blood and the paramedics swing back into action. I let go of his hand to allow them space as they remove the wadded napkins to assess the wound. I get a very brief look and I spot that blood around it is being sucked in through the wound and not bubbling out.

“What does that mean?” I desperately ask them. 

“Get him intubated, now!” 

I can’t breathe. 

I can’t actually breathe right now. Levi is dying in front of me. What if he doesn’t make it? Endless questions swirl through my mind until the noises inside the helicopter, the sounds of sirens and the deafening pulse of my blood pumping through my ears, all fade into a numb, piercing silence. We must have only been in the air for less than five minutes, but before I know it I’m stood on a helipad in some of the strongest winds I’ve ever felt, watching Levi’s gurney be rolled away by the awaiting medical team. 

First I fall to my knees. Then scream. 

Next comes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.s. Where do I draw the line at public and semi-public sex? 
> 
> I just laughed my way through an upcoming chapter and I'm pretty sure I have some smut tags to update soon xD 
> 
> ...still laughing. Mahaha


	20. You Touched My Hand...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short snippet from the A&E waiting room and the damage is revealed.

**Eren**

_My hands are pressed hard against the wound on Levi's chest, but the bleeding doesn't subdue. If anything it just makes it ten times worse._

_"I can't make it stop!" I cry out, but there's no one to hear me. There is blood everywhere and it’s gushing faster and faster._

_I fumble for my phone and dial for an ambulance._

_"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable" and the line goes dead._

_I call again, the automated voice finding my ear yet again._

_"You can't save him" the cold monotone voice states and I cry out loudly and toss my phone aside to try and hold more pressure on the wound._

_"Somebody please! Fucking help!" I shout at the top of my lungs with a cracking voice._

_Levi's skin is turning white and he's stopped moving, stopped breathing, but the blood continues to stream..._

I awaken to the colour red and a strong tightening around my arms and back. I thrash and cry out, terrified that the blood is all I will ever see. That Levi is dead. That I'll never see him smile again. I'll just have the image of his pale, lifeless corpse on the backs of my retinas for the rest of eternity. 

"Eren, shh"

I realize that the tight sensation is not letting me go, holding me as still as possible as it waits out my moment of agonized panic.

"Shh, it's okay"

I know that voice, "Mikasa?" I mumble into her red scarf, to which she leans back a little, keeping her hands on my shoulders.

"I'm here Eren, you were having a bad dream, that's all" 

Armin, Hange and Erwin are also here in the small waiting room with me. 

"Is Levi? -" The rest of the words die into a choked out sob before they can cross my tongue. I don't want to hear them for the chance they could be true. 

"We're going to find out soon, come on," she says with a clipped voice. She straightens up my bloodied shirt and lets go of me as Armin approaches holding a small backpack. 

"We figured you'd appreciate a change of clothes and some... deodorant" Armin says almost cautiously. I give myself a quick, shameless sniff and scrunch my nose up. Without saying it he’s right, as always. 

I've smelt better. 

Mikasa gestures over to the men's room. "Go on Eren, the doctor said he won’t be back for at least another half an hour. Go freshen up." She tells me with a hint of sympathy in her tone. 

I stand up and all I can feel etched into what feels like my entire being is a dull numbness. I glance at the clock and realize I had slept for almost six hours. No wonder I feel sore. My chest and ribs ache with sorrow and worry and despite just having had however many hours sleep, I still feel exhausted beyond words. 

I let myself into the disabled toilet, since it’s got a private sink and pause in front of my reflection. I look as bad as I feel, which doesn’t surprise me. I splash some water on my face in the vain attempt at calming my tired eyes and strip from my bloodied shirt. Armin and Mikasa had thought of everything from a washcloth with soap, to fresh clothes and a toothbrush. Detail down to the floss. I decide to make the most of everything they packed for me and try my best at precariously washing my hair under the small sink. 

I manage to do a pretty good job and I’ve gotten as clean as I could, given the location, and dressed into a pair of jeans and ironically, the same War of the Worlds Musical tee I was wearing the day I met Levi. This thing is ratty and old now, but I still like to sleep in it. It offers me a little bit of comfort as I return to the waiting room, dirty clothes bagged up.

Armin takes the bag from me and sets it down on the chair beside him as I slump down between Mikasa and Hange, towel still around my neck to catch the drips from my hair. I must have been in there a while because the doctor from before is sat opposite the others as well as another surgeon sat by his side. 

Before I had a chance to gauge everyone's facial expressions, Hange speaks up, barely even touching the tension in the room. I can barely breathe. 

"We asked them not to tell us until you got back." She says tersely. 

I hum and look nervously towards the two medical personnel. The whole room is thick with suspense and tension, a small percentage hoping for the best and the rest fearing for the worst. 

One half of those feelings dissipate into the other as soon as the doctor speaks. 

"Levi has been stabilized, for now."

“What was the damage?” Erwin asked when no one else offered to speak, too caught up in their relief. 

“Being shot at such close range, the bullet ricocheted around in his chest. After penetrating his chest, it bounced off his right scapula, fracturing it quite badly before tumbling back through his chest again, fracturing three ribs before finally piercing his right lung, almost shredding it. He’s very lucky that’s the worst of the damage.” 

My throat tightens uncomfortably. Earlier relief is suddenly torn away by the news that Levi is still in a critical condition. The surgeon speaks up next, seemingly the one who operated on Levi. 

“By the time he arrived here, he’d begun going into shock with the lung having completely collapsed. We managed to drain most of the fluid from his right lung and we managed to stabilize his breathing. He’s currently hooked up to a respirator until the wounds on the lung begin to heal enough for him to use it by himself.” 

We all nod along, acknowledging the information the doctors are giving us. I didn’t want to miss a single word they were saying but at the same time I could feel a crushing weight being lifted. Levi was alive. That’s almost all I wanted to focus on until the doctor, Rod, spoke up again. 

“For the time being, all I can suggest for all of you is to go home and sleep. We’ll call as soon as anything changes. He’ll likely be unresponsive for a few days as we need to keep him intubated.” 

“Can I see him?” I blurt out. He pauses for a long moment, exchanging pained glances with the surgeon at his side. After what feels like a lifetime of waiting for an answer he informs me.

“You may see him, but I can’t let you into the room just yet. I want to keep him in the ICU for at least the next week, possibly longer, until he can breathe by himself.”  
I instantly stand and Mikasa tries to get me to stay but I quickly shake her off, explaining that no matter what he looked like, I have to see it for myself. I have to see him for myself. I have to see that Levi was alive and not dying in my arms. 

The surgeon takes his leave after shaking a few hands as Hange, Erwin and Armin thank him for his work. I would do the same, but I can’t until I know he’s okay. 

The doctor leads me through a few doors and down a long corridor to a quiet ward area with closed off doors lining the hallway. The halls feel weird and clinical and it reminds me of all those years ago, coming to visit my mum when she was in her final stages. I tried pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind. Knowing that a sterile, clinical place like this could possibly take two people I love from me was not something I wanted to think about. 

He leads me up to a room labeled ‘850’ and it’s a sealed off, dark room with a large, blinded window connecting it to the hallway. The doctor gestures through the large window and the only thing I can see is the figure lying in the bed. My brain almost doesn’t really register it immediately as Levi and I let out a choked sob and instantly turn away, tears threatening to spill over again. 

I grit my teeth slightly and force myself to look back up. The room around him is primarily dark, painted in a light green color with no window connecting it to the outside. The lights are off and the only other lights in the room aside from the dim lighting in the hall we’re currently in, is the flashes of lots of tiny little lights and numbers amidst all of the machines surrounding his bed. Rod speaks up in a calm, soothing voice as he keeps his gaze on Levi.

“The bullet narrowly missed all major arteries, veins and his heart muscle. It also came very close to his spinal column…. Eren?” He turned to me to get my attention and I manage to look up at him. “He’s incredibly lucky to have come out of this with the injuries he has. The bullet could have easily damaged his spinal cord, leaving him a paraplegic. That or it could have killed him.” 

I slowly realize he’s doing his best to reassure me in a weird sort of way, and I turn my gaze from his over to Levi in the hospital bed. He’s completely still, likely still anaesthetized, and he has about twelve different tubes and wires poking out from under his gown and blanket. 

“What are all of those for?” I say, gesturing to everything attached to his pale, fragile looking body.

“We’ve got him set up to a heart monitor, as well as a couple of other monitors for all of his vitals such as body temperature, blood oxygen and blood pressure levels. The tubes you see connected to his arms are for the intravenous fluids and replacement blood that he lost.” He points to the hanging bags to either side of the bed. I nod to inform him I’m still listening.

“The bag on the right is the sedative. This will help keep his body still so it can begin healing, and the bag behind it is keeping a very slow drip of painkillers running. Once he’s conscious again we’ll increase the drip on that. He’ll certainly need it.” 

I look Levi over and suddenly all of the wires seem less intimidating and his words seem to have me worrying a lot less. I may be reading too much into what he’s saying, but he doesn’t seem to be speaking in a hopeful tone. He seems sure Levi will wake up, and that he’ll recover. Levi has a pretty ugly clear tube taped across his face, sticking out from his open mouth. I can’t tell if he looks uncomfortable or not. Probably not, if he’s unconscious. As if sensing that I was staring at that in particular, he continues his slightly comforting explanation. 

“Being on a respirator, the machine you see moving there, he needs to be sedated for it since the tube you see over his mouth is currently connecting the oxygen to his lungs. As soon as he has been stable for a good two days, I will probably perform a tracheostomy.”

“What’s one of those?” I ask, genuinely curious more than concerned over another procedure.

“I’m going to make a small incision on his throat and replace the tube from his mouth, directly into his windpipe. It will be much more comfortable for him, and we’ll be able to have him less sedated. You’ll probably be able to visit him properly in about three or four days. Maybe just a little longer. I can’t guarantee you he’ll be conscious at all, but still.” 

“That’s good. What’s that one do?” I point out a small table positioned close to his waist beside the bed, holding a small container connected to a series of tubes snaking under his blankets. I recognize one as a catheter, my mum had one, but I don’t know where the other one is connected. I’m just looking for any means to hide the fact that I don’t know if I can wait longer than a week to hold his hand again. Not when he looks so vulnerable.

“Those are for draining, it will keep any excess fluid out of his lungs, and below that is a catheter.”

“Wow” I say softly… “He’s really well taken care of…” 

The doctor smiles softly and places a hand on my shoulder. I reluctantly pry my attention away from Levi for the moment to look up at him and offer him an earnest “thank you” before I look back.

“You are very welcome. I will call you often to keep you updated on his condition. I can’t see him dying from this, but we’ll keep a very close eye on him just in case.” I was now able to smile back up at him a little more genuine and significantly less worried. “But first, I suggest you go home and get some sleep. You’ll both need your strength for the road ahead.” 

I nod a little, feeling a lot more self-assured that Levi is in fact in good hands here. 

My exhaustion answers for me and I soon find myself nestled up in a blanket on the back seat of Armin’s car, being driven home. I make a mental note to call as soon as I wake up to see when I can see Levi. Just being in the room with him would be enough… 

I try my best to convince myself that Levi will pull through and survive.

However the next few weeks turn out, it’s going to be hell either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this was a shortie, the next chapter kicks off from chapter one. Go refresh y'all memories!
> 
> Also thank you all who have read/left kudos/bookmarked/commented/took the time to click here!  
> It means a lot to have such great support for my first experimental fic. :) 
> 
> Also going to basically build an Ao3 'book' of mini-chapters of PWP smut one-shots.  
> Taking kink & pairing requests! ;) Primarily SnK but perhaps some Free! too, 'cause those swimming bastards are so adorable.


	21. ...And You Smiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This follows after chapter one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey,   
> Eighty-kay.   
> Hip-hooray?   
> Update day!

I don’t know how long I’ve been unconscious for, but I awaken to the feeling of movement. It’s like I’m floating and there are long, bright lights flashing from the top of my vision to the bottom and there’s something pressing around my mouth and nose. What the fuck is that? 

My physicality registers my consciousness and the most severe pain wracking my entire body suddenly hits me, so I clench my eyes shut and try to block it out somehow. The pain is so intense and strong that I can’t block it out no matter how hard I try, so I attempt to move my head to take a look at where the hell I am, but I can barely move my neck. My chest feels so tight it’s hard to breathe. I wish whatever was on my face would piss off; it feels like it’s making my breathing ten times worse and the pressure is unbearable. 

I move my eyes as far out as I can see without moving my head. There are men and women holding something to my sides, looking down at me with stressed and concentrated looks on their faces. The motion comes to a stop and I gasp involuntarily in pain as I am suddenly moved from wherever I was lying, to… wherever I’m lying now. I can’t see shit past everyone’s arms and hands and this fucking thing on my face. Seems it’s an oxygen mask. 

“Get his chest drained” Someone says to another, and soon enough a sudden tight, painful feeling in my right side burns into my focus. The mask on my face is finally removed; only to be replaced with a different one and I slowly blink, about twice, until my eyes are shut for good, welcoming the dark warmth of unconsciousness for a second time that night.

\--- 

I recall blearily opening my eyes for a short moment to see a pair of blue-clad, probably surgeons, stood above me. It seems a lot less frantic now; maybe I’m not dying anymore. They’re doing something to my throat, but I can’t feel anything. I wonder where Eren is - he’s probably worried.

\--- 

I open my eyes again and everything is still numb and slightly blurry. I can’t feel anything, but there’s an older man in a white coat in the room with me and I just about manage to look up at him.

“Hello Levi, it’s good to see you awake” he says. I go to respond, but my lips part and nothing comes out. My mouth feels like sandpaper and my voice doesn’t quite register as anything more than a quiet croak. Just the simple action of trying to make noise wracks my entire body with a sharp pain. 

I let out a slow, defeated wheeze and resign in my attempts to respond, opting instead to keep still. The bastard lets out a little chuckle and chides me with a soft “it’s going to be difficult speaking with this tube down your throat”. He gestures below my chin to but since I’m covered in masks, tubes and wires, I can’t see shit. I can feel as if I have a neck brace on so it’s not like I can tilt my head for a better look. 

The man calls a nurse in and exchanges a few words and the woman moves to my side with a cup and slips a wet spongy stick inside my mouth. 

_Sweet, glorious moisture_. I think to myself as I try to slowly suck on the sponge, although my tongue doesn’t seem to have a fucking clue what to do so I just gape like a fish, pathetically opening and closing my mouth. I’m thirstier than an Irishman on St. Patrick’s Day and it feels like it’s been days since I last had a glass of water. My throat feels drier than a nun’s crotch. As I attempt to extract any of the moisture from the sponge, the doctor leans in and flashes a small flashlight across my eyes and I wince at the sudden brightness. 

“Everything seems to be going well, Mister Ackerman, your injuries are healing nicely” 

I look back up at him again questioningly, doing my best to raise an eyebrow, and then back to the nurse who takes the stick out, re-wets it and slips it back into my mouth. I close my eyes as I enjoy the sweet cool liquid making its way down my throat. 

“I’ve had your fiancé Mister Yeager in here every day for the last three weeks. He’ll likely be disappointed he wasn’t here when you woke up, but I’m sure he’ll be pleased to know.” 

Three weeks? Then where is Eren now? I do my best to nod and smile, but it probably looks like I just ripped a really painful fart instead with the length of time it takes me. 

“Well. You’re very lucky to have him. He cares about you a lot.” The doctor says as he finishes doing his checks. 

I’m pretty sure he keeps talking, but I feel way too exhausted to care, so I allow myself to return to my sandman siesta. 

\--- 

My eyes are shut, but I can feel something holding my left hand. It’s warm and gentle and something in the room smells like… Eren. 

I can hear the beeping to my left increasing slightly and the grip on my hand tightens, only sending it beeping faster. I do my best to squeeze back and I can hear a muffled voice come into focus. The fuck are they talking about? 

“The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million-to-one, he said” I hear the voice say. I’m sure it’s Eren’s, but what he’s saying makes no sense. 

I spend what must only have been a few seconds vaguely putting two and two together, realizing that Eren is reading to me, but fall asleep before I can think about opening my eyes properly. 

\--- 

The days continue like this, although I’m able to stay awake for a little longer each time. About five days after my first proper awakening I’m able to incline the bed a little and sit up at about a thirty-degree angle; enough to see out of the window of my room from the bed. Eren’s not here and I can just about see a window across the hall outside my dim lit room. It looks dark outside; I wonder what time it is. The doctor told me it’s been just over thirty days since I was shot. Eren must be worried; I wonder when visiting hours are. I find myself getting restless just thinking about it, until what I assume is my usual nurse walks in with a smile on her face. 

I look over at her name badge. ‘Reiss’, huh? She spots the motion of my eyes as she’s checking me over and offers the information willingly. “Mister Ackerman, I’m Florian. I’ll just be changing your dressings.” I look up at her and watch her blankly as she performs her duties, changing the bandages on my chest. A few moments later another nurse joins her, and they both stand by the side of my bed, reclining it flat. I can’t exactly complain, or move, until they position themselves at the tube on my throat. 

“We’re just going to take this out, Mister Ackerman. I want to warn you this will feel a little weird.” 

I couldn’t really object or feel much, if anything, except for a peculiar feeling inside my chest of movement that wasn’t natural to my body. The tube popped free with a little ‘ _schlick!_ ’ and my chest felt heavy as I started breathing completely unaided for the first time in over a month. I really wish Eren was here, but I have to settle for the next best thing as I take hold of one of the nurses’ hands as the other one moves an oxygen mask into place over my nose and mouth. I start to feel a tingle of panic as my chest feels heavier and heavier and I squeeze the woman’s hand as a couple of tears escape the corners of my eyes, dripping down into my ears. 

Only after adjusting the tank beside me and giving it a few moments does my breathing settle into a more comfortable rhythm. They gently restore my bed to its previous position after about fifteen minutes and I gesture towards my sponge cup. Florian obliges kindly and hands it to me. By now I can do the rest. I lay there reasonably comfortably, tucking the sponge stick into my mouth under the oxygen mask, slowly savoring the cool bland water before dipping and repeating until I run out of liquid. 

\--- 

Today I manage to spend about four hours of the early morning awake, to which my doctor comes in looking exhausted after a night shift and tells me I’m being moved out of the ICU in about three days. My voice has slowly returned, although it’s hoarse at best as my lung is still apparently healing. On occasions I will wake up to having a nurse moving my right arm in or out of it’s sling, accompanied by an incredibly sharp pain in my shoulder. 

“When… can I see… Eren?” I breathe out, taking short breaths between each few words like that annoying Stevie kid out of _‘Malcolm in the Middle’_. Every breath is laborious and takes far more effort than is normal. I suppose that comes with being shot in the fucking chest. 

“He’s always here between visiting hours, without fail,” she tells me. 

“When..?” 

“Are visiting hours? Visiting hours are between ten and one, and two and six. He always stays just outside your door for that one hour between. We can barely get him to leave on time ever, and he’s always early.” 

My chest instantly tightens and not in a painful way. The comforting heat pools over me like nothing I’ve ever felt before, knowing that I’ll have Eren’s warm sun-kissed skin within my touch once again. I twiddle my fingers on my left hand a little, looking down at my ringed finger with a smile. I didn’t know I’d been unconscious so much of each day and it was pure shitty luck I’d managed to wake up a few times during the nights or early mornings, always when Eren wasn’t here. Well if I could stay awake today, maybe I’d see him, or maybe he’d wake me up. 

“Thanks” I say as I fall back to sleep, reveling in the thought of being able to see my lover again. 

\--- 

When I awake, there’s darkness. A lot of darkness. It’s not as if my room has a window, but through my closed eyelids I can tell the lights are dimmed and my bed has been lowered. I can feel a warmth around my left hand and a soft, even tickle of air evenly brushing across the skin on my pale wrist. There’s a slight dip on the bed by my left side and I can feel something hard pressing against the outer side of my thigh. 

I slowly peel my eyes open and spot Eren hunched over the bed, half sat and half lying on the available mattress space as he gently holds my hand close to his cheek. I look around a little as I stir and try to get a sense of the time. 

My heart skips a beat once I look back down and lock gazes with a brilliant green I’d been uncomfortably craving for what felt like weeks, but must only have been days. I gently squeeze his hand and smile as wide as I can. 

“Hey, shit stain.” 

Eren doesn’t answer me, rather his eyes fill with tears and he chokes out a soft sob, squeezing my hand tighter. There is initially so much sorrow I see within those beautiful eyes, but it quickly dissolves into relief, his shoulders sagging significantly and the tears flowing freely over his cheeks as he beams the most amazing smile in my direction. He could literally light this dark little room up and just the thought warms me. 

“What… time is it?” I manage, huskily. Eren turns his wrist around to check his watch. 

“Almost seven” he says, much to my disappointment. They’ll probably be kicking him out soon. 

“How long… have you been… here?” I try to not get angry with him for not waking me. I’m failing miserably and not being able to speak effectively is borderline enraging. I feel the frustration tingling at the back of my immovable neck, since I’m still strapped up with a brace, but there’s nothing I can do with it besides let it bubble. It’s not like I can move. 

“Since they let me in.” He admits.

“And you… didn’t wake… me up?” I snapped, irritated, as quickly as my breathing would allow. He looked a little hurt in response. 

“You looked so peaceful, and I know you need your rest” he reasoned, trying not to look dejected, and also failing miserably. 

“Sorry” I paused to catch my breath. It took a few minutes and Eren simply sat in silence as he waited. “I just… fucking missed you.” I say quietly, giving his hand a squeeze as I try to calm my breathing. Seems even the smallest exertion is taxing on my weak lung and throat and even heavy breathing is causing significant pain to my right shoulder. I briefly wonder what is wrong with it, until Eren responds. 

“I missed you too. I’m so glad you’re okay.” He maintained his comfortable looking position on the side of my leg, carefully propping his head against my thigh after asking if it hurt, to which I shook my head slowly. There were small tears flowing freely from his visible eye, to which I swiped it away with my fingertips as best I could. 

“You can’t… get rid of me… that easy.” I smiled, and he returned the gesture. There was nothing I loved more than his smile. “You better… fucking… come back to visit… me tomorrow” I warned him. “I want… to see you… for more than five fucking minutes… you know.” Damn, multiple words in one go hurts. I’ll stick to single words. I’m starting to feel the heavy drag of my eyelids again, but I try my exhausted best to keep my eyes open.

“Heh, sorry about that Levi.” 

“Don’t. C’mere.” I carefully slip my oxygen mask down and incline the bed a little ways so I’m just below upright. Gravity still doesn’t completely agree with me and sitting up too far for too long hurts like a motherfucker. 

He takes the hint and moves closer for me to be able to press my chapped, dry lips against his exquisitely soft, pink ones. I rest a syringed, tubed hand against his cheek and stare into those green orbs for what feels like an eternity. Only when he brushes a hand against my cheek and jaw do I realize I’ve not shaved in a month. Thank the beard gods I have the facial-hair-growing-speed of a fourteen year old. Slow. 

Eren on the other hand could look like ‘cousin it’ in a week if he didn’t shave. The hairy bastard. Must be a Turkish thing. 

“I love you,” I mumble, and he blushes furiously, sitting back in his chair when Florian announces her arrival with some delicious liquid hospital food. It also sadly signifies the end of Eren’s already overdue visit. 

“Come… tomorrow?” I didn’t have to ask. 

“You don’t have to ask, silly” 

What was that again, about this brat being able to mind read?

I still question that to this day. 

\--- 

I learn I have been in intensive care for over four weeks now, most of which was spent more or less comatose, and they are wheeling me out today with significantly less tubes. I’ve lost all but one IV drip of heavy painkillers, my heart monitor and a tube that links up around my ears and hooked under my nostrils, streaming oxygen into my nose. Apparently my right arm will need to be in a sling for another six weeks minimum. I spot Eren in my new room waiting for me with a huge smile on his face. He’s also brought along Hange, Moblit, Mikasa and Armin. Mike’s even here, too. 

The attendants lock my bed into place and take my vitals as everyone aside from Eren, who stays to hold my hand, patiently wait outside. 

Now that my more fleshy wounds have almost healed, it has become more comfortable to sit upright as it seems to help with my ribs. Whenever I run low on my painkiller drip, the pain in my chest and particularly my shoulder becomes absolutely agonizing. So unfortunately for all of my visitors who have just joined me, today was one of those days. The drip had finished about an hour ago and I don’t get such frequent checkups now I am outside of the ICU. 

Everyone just speaks quietly amongst themselves whilst I am unable to focus on nothing but the pain, Eren getting up quickly to assess me and call for help as my face twists in discomfort. I still haven’t really registered much medical information I have been offered with regards to the state of my body, but all I know is when things start to hurt, my breathing gets heavy and when my breathing gets heavy my chest moves more than my shoulder is happy with. It then proceeds to hurt like a bitch. 

I feel a little bit like robo-cop with this funny contraption they’ve fixed to my elbow joint which keeps my right arm completely immobile. Think it’s called an air brace, like them stupid boots you see people with broken legs walking around in. They can’t strap a proper sling to me yet until my left lung has healed, which makes sense. Healed enough to hold the straps of a shoulder brace at least. Once I am all hooked up and the meds start to kick in, roughly half an hour later, I am able to speak up a little to my visitors. I had rejoined them halfway through a conversation about the New Year. 

“Did they get her?” I asked. Damn I’m feeling tired. 

“It was the woman who mistook you as the man who killed her boyfriend, Bertolt, back at the warehouse. Her name is Annie Leonhardt. She didn’t confess to anything regarding her involvement with the Sina scam, but she doesn’t need to. We have too many eyewitnesses of her shooting you and attempting to murder Eren in cold blood. It will be an easy trial.” Mike said, and I remembered her clearly. I was stood on the corner of the building holding a gun and she looked up from the dead brunette’s body to lock eyes with me, presumably getting the wrong idea and thinking I’d killed him, since Reiner was out of sight. 

“The one who broke my wrist” I added, more as a loud thought than anything else. Mike simply nodded. 

“So what happens now?” Mikasa asked for us both.

“Nothing for you, leave the rest to the Jury. Just focus on recovering and we’ll worry about statements once you’re feeling better.” 

I was so thankful for the reprieve. I could only just stay awake for everyone for an hour of light chatter, never mind _another_ police interview. 

I slowly blinked and before I know it my head is slumped to the side as I’m dragged back into sleep my by shattered body. The last thing I felt was a soft squeeze to my left hand and a gentle kiss to my cheek before the room turned quiet.


	22. Oh I...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shivers this is one of my favourite chapters.  
> Not so much for content but just by how much it changed from what it was originally meant to be and how much I laughed while writing it. 
> 
> It's probably not as hilarious to read as it was to write, but I love you all anyway and I hope you enjoy!

Six or seven weeks in, I forget, now having been more or less completely conscious for the last week and a half or so and I wake up pretty early in the morning. It’s even before the ass crack of dawn. I take a moment to soak in my surroundings, looking over at the small pin board opposite my bed above a set of drawers below it. The board is absolutely covered with cards, as is the drawer unit. I can’t tell who wrote them or whether I actually knew that many people, but I smile anyway. Seemed I had more people in my life that cared about me than wanted me dead. Oh how the tables have turned from twelve years ago. 

Doctor Rod comes in at around eight and flicks through my chart at the end of the bed. I on the other hand silently notify him with a loud growl from my stomach that I’m fucking starving. 

“Hungry, Mister Ackerman?” he asks. He doesn’t look up from my chart. 

“Famished.” I retort bitterly. I’m in a foul mood this morning. I got next to no sleep due to my fucking ass-pain of a shoulder, and these nurses refuse to feed me anything with any fucking flavor. Roll on discharge day. I rest my head back against the bed and squirm slightly. 

“Can’t you get these fucking nurses to stop giving me pillows?” I attempt to maneuver out from two of what must be the world’s largest fucking pillows on the planet. Usually at home I won’t sleep with one at all, preferring to lie flat on my back if I’m not curled up next to or on top of Eren. Speaking of which, he ought to be here soon, so that might cheer me up. 

Rod moves over to help remove the pillows once he’s inclined my bed all the way. I sit myself up at a ninety-degree angle, hunching over slightly. It’s not uncomfortable if I stay still, if anything it feels better than lying down. 

“How are you feeling?” he asks once he’s removed the pillows and starts to unstrap the back of my gown to check my shoulder first. 

“My chest feels more or less fine, but it’s my shoulder that’s still in a lot of pain,” I explain to him. He hums in acknowledgement as he unstraps my elbow from the robo-arm. As soon as the immobilizer is off, I can instantly feel the strong ache in my shoulder blade, which travels across my back and around the front of my chest close to my neck. I allow my arm to go limp as the doctor lifts it slowly and I scrunch my face up, groaning slightly from the pain once he raises it to the point where it starts hurting. 

“Your mobility is definitely returning, and fairly quickly too. Which is all a good sign. The plan is to have you see a physiotherapist at least once a day for the next two weeks and we’ll set you up with some exercises to take home in a fortnight. Your mobility exercises will probably take another three to four weeks or so though.” He continues to do a few simple stretch movements on my shoulder before lowering my arm again. 

Oh, _joy_. Another four weeks of wiping left handed. I suppose it beats a frozen shoulder any day of the week. 

I spot Eren enter the room while Rod is strapping my arm back together to hold it still and I lean back against the bed as the doctor gently peels the gown away from my chest. Thanks to my little month of cryo-stasis, a lot of the healing happened in the first four weeks while I was physically still and unconscious, so the thick dressings have been recently replaced with a simple set of four stitches and a covering dressing. As I say it’s not so much the chest and my ribs causing so much discomfort as it is my shoulder. 

Eren sets himself down on his chair to my left, taking my hand and kissing the top whilst Rod works at pulling gently at the edges of the dressing to assess the bullet wound. 

“Hey Levi” Eren chirps, to which I hum noncommittally. I’d really missed having him here last night. There’s nothing worse than not being able to sleep. I probably looked more wrecked and shattered than normal and I’m confident that my eye bags have bags of their own at the moment. 

“How are you doing?” he asks with a hint of caution. He can probably tell I look like shit but the little fucker is too polite to say anything. 

“Didn’t sleep last night. I’m fucking miserable.” I tell him openly. 

“How long until Levi can go home?” Eren asks the doctor. I flinch and let slip a “fuck,” as he tugs at a hair attached to the dressings, wincing as the movement sets off my shoulder, leaving it burning slightly. 

“He’ll need bed rest for another four weeks or so _at least_. I want to send him home soon though. Two weeks” he tells Eren. Two more weeks and I’m home. I extract my hand from Eren’s and wipe my eyes as Rod gently cleans the now more or less sealed wound on the right side of my chest, just below my pectoral. “I’ll have someone come in to remove these stitches in a few hours, after you’ve had your breakfast.” I turn my nose up both to the fact that he’s removing all sorts of colored fluids from the slightly seeping hole on my chest and talking about breakfast at the same fucking time. 

“Way to put a man off his breakfast,” I complain under my breath. Eren lightly taps the top of my left hand and frowns at me. 

“He doesn’t mean it,” Eren explained. Rod remained quiet, continuing to work. 

“Tch.” 

“How has your breathing been, Levi?” Rod asks, pressing his cold as fuck stethoscope over the left side of my chest, then the right, listening to my breathing. He asks me to breathe in as deep as I can, and although it’s nowhere close to what I could do before I was shot, it’s still fairly decent. 

He hummed as he listened to me following his breathing instructions and I rolled my eyes at Eren, who just smiled at me. 

Once the doctor had left, leaving my chest uncovered to “breathe” for a bit, Eren simply sat beside my bed, resting his head on my thigh. I moved my hand to the side of his head, running my fingers through his soft, dark brown hair with a sullen, tired look on my face. 

“What’s up?” he asks.

“I just want to go home already” I whined, quietly closing my exhausted eyes. I was bored fucking shitless in this hospital bed. Although I couldn’t actually move and still felt drained most of the time, I hated the sterile environment and the smells of home and laundry I’d cleaned myself. I also missed being able to take a shit without having to ask for help to get out of bed. It was humiliating. Eren gently rubbed my ringed finger and I hummed quietly as I took his hand in mine, the two of us sitting and laying in comfortable silence for a short while until breakfast arrived. I managed a piece of toast but otherwise I was uninterested in the rest. 

“Eren.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Do me a favour?” 

“Anything” he said, his green eyes lighting up in determination. I’m fairly confident he’d jump in front of a train for me if I asked. I couldn’t love him any more, and I appreciate his loyalty. 

“I want you to go home.” 

His face fell. “What?”

“Listen first,” I chided. “Go home, I want you to let yourself into my cleaning cupboard” May I add this is somewhere he never goes, hence my genius hiding place. “I want you to move the bathroom cleaner on the bottom shelf, and at the back is a big wooden box. Really hard to miss. Bring it to me _without_ opening it.” 

“Uh, what’s in it?” He asked, looking skeptical and suspicious all at the same time. 

“I said don’t open it. Can you promise you won’t look inside?” 

“Um. Yes?” 

“Repeat back to me what you’re going to go do.” 

Eren frowned, looking hopelessly confused but went ahead with it anyway, obeying my order. “Cleaning cupboard, move the bathroom stuff, wooden box, bring here, absolutely _no_ peeking.” He accentuated the final part with a dramatic eye-roll. It was fucking adorable. 

“Good, now fuck off. Oh, and Eren bring me some flavor or something for this god awful food?” I tell him as my eyelids begin to get the better of me, forcing me back to sleep for a few hours. 

By the time I re-awaken, I am being roused by a short blonde woman who looks about Eren’s age, probably a bit younger. I recognize her from somewhere. 

“Alright, Mister Acker- …Levi!” she exclaims, almost dropping my patient board at the foot of my bed. I open my heavy eyelids a little further and the sluggishness I was feeling earlier from a lack of sleep has lightened somewhat thanks to the doc topping up my morphine before my little nap. Judging by the weather outside it could be any time between eleven and two; it’s cloudy as fuck and pissing it down with rain. Love that February weather. 

I just abouts make out her blonde hair tied back into a bun and her bright blue eyes looking at me in disbelief. “Krista?” 

“It was so terrible what happened to you… are you okay?” she hurried to my side, reading through my board and frowning deeply. This girl was like a fucking princess. Pretty, petite and probably held the natural trait of being able to summon forest animals to do her housework for her. She has a voice like the birds singing and she’s just plain adorable. 

“I’ve been better,” I almost laugh, but it hurts. “What’s with the getup?” I ask her, pointing out her uniform. It varies slightly from the nurse attire, but they’re still scrubs either way. 

“Oh! I’m your physiotherapist!” she smiles at me, beaming rays of fucking sunshine over my bed. It’s revoltingly charming. I wince slightly at her intense energy levels for this early in the… afternoon. 

“Could be worse” I muse aloud. She simply smiles. 

“Well, I’ve been informed on what you’ve already been doing, so I’m the follow up, so to speak! I’ll be working with you to get you exercising your shoulder by yourself unaided, as well as aftercare when you’re discharged.” 

I nod at her. I’m listening, promise. 

I’m not listening. 

I’m waiting for Eren to get back so I can give him my little gift. 

“What’s the date today?” I ask her whilst she’s speaking. She seems a little taken back but blinks it off and tells me it’s the twelfth. Two days to go. Wonderful. 

She explains a little more about how she had just finished her final year of University last year and had been working part time at Maria’s for some food money until she got a proper job. Which she was now doing, which was great to see. It’s rare to find people who actually get jobs related to their degrees straight out of university. She told me that her dad ran the hospital, and that she had multiple brothers and sisters who all went into medicine too. The whole fucking family worked here. 

We’re half way through my first two-hour session and Eren returns, box in hand. I don’t bother acknowledging him because I want to make the most of this physio while I’m still jacked up on the morphine and the movements are reasonably pain free. I’m stood up, against the wall, bracing myself with my left hand while I see how far up the wall I can move my right without the brace. I can get it to just over head level, but anything further starts to twinge. 

Hold it, release, rinse, repeat. 

Easy.

Once we’re done, I gently rub my shoulder with my left hand and return to the bed, wincing as my ribs flare up from the small amount of walking. Krista proceeds to tape up my shoulder somewhat so it provides what support I’m not able to get from a proper shoulder sling. 

“Alright, Levi, that’s enough for today. I’ll speak with Doctor Reiss and see how you are tomorrow. In the meantime, I want you to practice with this.” She hands me a small rubber ball after demonstrating a squeezing motion. It’s essentially a stress ball to keep my arm muscles moving and active. Suppose it’ll give me something to play with when the pain isn’t so bad. 

I can just feel my muscles withering after a month and a half of bed rest; I can’t wait to be strong enough to work out again. 

“Thanks Krista” I tell her and she greets and says goodbye to Eren, leaving us alone. Eren smiles at me and hands me the decent sized wooden box once I flex my left arm out for it. He keeps his eyes glued to it, as if I’m going to open it there and then… Ha. Wrong! I chuckle to myself quietly and Eren rolls his eyes. 

“You’re not going to open it?” 

“You didn’t look, right?” 

“Nope, it’s locked” 

“Aha, so you _tried_?” I grin, teasing him is so easy it should be a crime. 

“That’s not! I, But!”

“Just shut up and come here. I want a kiss.” 

Eren rolls his eyes again and leans over the box to kiss me gently. I simply melt beneath him into the hospital bed as he strokes my cheek, which is now coarse and nasty from not shaving in six fucking weeks. There’s a reason I don’t have a beard, somewhere along the line in my adolescence my face decided to be an asshole and refuse to grow in certain parts and at a snails pace, so it just looks ridiculous. Or at least I think it does. Eren on the other hand…

“Mmh, you’re actually pretty sexy with a bit of stubble,” he mumbles once he breaks away, his breath ghosting across my lips. 

“Like hell I am, I can’t wait to fucking shave” I pull his collar back so I can kiss him again. “You know, I said I wanted a kiss, but not _here_.” I grin mischievously, licking my lips. Eren’s eyes turn as wide as saucers and he turns bright red as he drops back into his seat, mouth hung open. 

“L-levi!?” he gasps under his breath, almost going to hit my arm but he stops himself, clenching his hands together in his lap, leaving his mouth hanging open as he gapes in amused shock. 

“Yes, the mouth needs to be open, good start” I tell him, laughing and ignoring the way it makes my chest and shoulder tingle. The morphine is working it’s magic and I want to make the most of it before I get these stitches taken out, which could be any minute. 

“Levi, I can’t!” he tells me, fairly loudly. I point at the open door to my room with a huge grin on my face. 

“Go ask when they’re taking my stitches out, then get the fuck back here or I’ll do it myself and make you _watch_ ” 

Eren turns redder than a Biffa bin. It’s fucking funny. I make a mental note to giggle quietly to myself at the memory when no one’s around. 

“Eren.” I say with a stern voice. “I will _never_ tell you what’s inside that box if you don’t do this” I manage to laugh out. Eren simply gawks at me in disbelief. 

“Are you blackmailing me - from a _hospital bed_ , into giving you a blow job?” 

“Yes.”

\--- 

I feign a wince, scrunching my brows together and muttering out a small ‘fuck’ and the occasional ‘shit’ but that doesn’t stop the ministrations. I let my mouth hang open slightly as I hold my breath for the final stitch to be pulled through the tender flesh on my chest and I gasp with relief as it is pulled free. 

“All done!” the nurse chirps happily. 

“Thank fuck”

Eren is awkwardly reading a women’s health magazine in the corner, legs crossed and avoiding any and all eye contact with me while we wait for the nurse to re-dress my now more or less completely healed wound. I feign another painful wince and gently ask if the painkillers could be increased just this once, as my shoulder is feeling particularly sore at the moment. I stress that it can’t be anything that makes me drowsy, as I have something important to share with Eren, gesturing to the box, and that we’d appreciate not being disturbed for a little while. 

She smiles warmly, saying she’ll be back, and true to her word she returns with a syringe and a bottle. I have no idea what’s in it, but either way she injects it into my drip and I thank her, waiting for it’s effect to kick in. 

She draws the blind and closes the door behind her and my left hand immediately sneaks towards my lap, slowly tugging at the fabric around my waist and groin. I roll my hips upwards very carefully and slowly, trying not to arch my back at all to spare my shoulder any pain, rubbing myself against the palm of my hand. Goddamn I wish I’d been shot on my left side instead. I’d have my right hand free to work properly, at least.

Eren doesn’t notice until a long, satisfying sigh escapes my lips. I’m doing it on purpose. He won’t touch me by his own accord whilst I’m lying in a hospital bed recovering from near-fatal injuries, so I’ll have to start the process off somewhat.

“Haaah.. mmm..” I hum to myself as I rub myself through the hospital gown beneath my thin blanket. Sure my hand is covered, but it’s damn obvious what I’m doing underneath. “Eren, pillows” I tell him quickly, having had an idea of the century. I stop my palming to adjust with some help from Eren, having two pillows placed at my sides, giving my back something to rest on so I can’t arch it so much, keeping my shoulder supported. That and the meds are kicking in and it’s _strong_. Jesus it’s been weeks since I had any kind of release, all that my mind is able to focus on is getting off, whether Eren helps or not. 

“Mmh.. Eren..” I moan out in as low a tone as I can go, as I slip my hand beneath the gown taking hold of myself to stroke at it properly. I look up at my lover through hooded, needy eyes, silently pleading with him to join me. He looks mortified and quickly moves over to the door, peeking through the blinds as I slowly roll my hips up into my hand from my almost horizontal position. 

“Eren” I call for him, having now become significantly harder than I was twenty minutes ago. He shuffles uncomfortably before moving closer to the bed with a disbelieving scowl on his face. 

“You’re kidding me, right?” He asked, his hands on his hips. 

“I’m getting so hard Eren. Help me, _please?_ ” I look up at him practically pouting, still rolling my hips painfully slow, working myself up with the gentle friction. I don’t really say please all that often, except occasionally in the bedroom when I’m feeling particularly horny and desperate and want to get my own way. Eren bends over backwards for the ‘P’ word. Something fires him up at being given the chance to dominate, and it’s one of the little tricks I’ve picked up along the way where getting Eren naked in a hurry is concerned. 

He likes to think he’s the one in control… I smile smugly to myself as I palm my growing erection.

I don’t mind if he doesn’t particularly get naked _right now_ , what with being in a hospital room and all, with anyone being able to walk in. I see Eren’s resolve falter as he turns to look at the door, then back to me.

“The door doesn’t lock you know?” he carefully informs me, not being able to pull his gaze away from how I take my bottom lip between my teeth and bite down playfully as I continue to writhe into my hand to the best of my ability on the bed. 

“That makes it all the more… _exciting_ ” I accentuate the final word with a sultry moan, this time much louder. 

Levi: One, Eren’s resolve to _not_ partake in any sexual activity within a hospital: Zero. 

Success! 

“Tell me _as soon_ as anything hurts.” Eren warns me, every single word laced thick with concern. He’s being deathly serious so I simply nod quickly and begin to slowly shuffle the blankets from my body, which is growing more and more hot and bothered with every passing moment. He cracks into a cheeky grin as soon as he goes to make a move though, tilting his head back a little and telling me “all you’re getting is a hand job though.” 

I will agree to anything if it gets me what I need right now. 

And right now, that’s Eren on my cock. In whatever body part will present itself as willing. 

“How long would it take for you to come?” He asks. 

“The fuck sort of question is that at a time like this?” I snap.

“A perfectly legitimate one. Answer it,” he quietly demands of me as he adjusts through his jeans his now very visible arousal. The sight alone sends uncomfortably sensual shivers down my spine, straight to my dick. 

Eren throws one more glance over his shoulder before helping with the sheets, pulling carefully at them to not jostle me too much. 

“At this rate, not long. Hurry” I tell him in a hushed tone. 

“A little warning next time would be wonderful,” he complains. 

“Just take it real slow, yeah? I don’t want to stay in this fucking bed longer than necessary because we went and decided to be idiots.” 

“Isn’t this a terrible idea anyway?” Eren asks as he takes hold of my erection under my gown which produces a low groan from the back of my throat. God I’d missed this. Having lain in bed for the last six weeks, this simply feels _heavenly_. 

“Mhm” I hum, trying to ignore the heart monitor as it beeps a tad faster in the background. Eren’s hand slowly moves up and down my length, and he keeps his eyes on the door more than his ministrations. Occasionally his hand will still and we find ourselves holding our breaths somewhat as footsteps come close to the outside of the room, only to tap further away without entering. The same goes for when we hear any particularly loud voices close by. 

I’ll admit, the way Eren’s hand flicks up and over the tip, only to twist back down to the base, feels absolutely heavenly on a physical level, but we can’t stop grinning and watching the door. It’s not the best atmosphere for a hand job but the possibility of getting walked in on is a big turn on. It’s just a damn shame I can’t pull Eren up onto my bed and have him fuck himself on my cock. 

In time… that we don’t currently have. 

“Faster, Eren. I’m not gonna get anywhere like this” I urge him on to finish. He hesitates and looks at me with his usual glimmer of concern, but gently picks up the pace. I go to throw my head back as the heat pools quickly in the base of my stomach and I feel my release is close to seconds away. It takes every ounce of my willpower to not buck up into his hand and trying to keep my body still is fucking frustrating when all I want to do is have him ravage me right here and now. 

“Oh God, I needed this” I sigh quietly as I buck up into Eren’s hand rigidly, shooting my fresh fucking air into the sheets. It was over way too quickly and I don’t even get to return the favour. I frown ever so slightly and feel my chest tighten as I attempt to calm myself down after my miniature orgasm. I feel my blood pumping through my ears and I smile lazily at Eren, who’s grinning playfully. 

As soon as he finishes and releases me, he has _just_ enough time to remove his hand from under the sheets before the door flies open, giving the pair of us a damn near heart attack. I flinch and with the movement I feel the wound on my chest pull and my shoulder twangs in a painful reminder. I wince and the nurse looks at me apologetically, rushing over to my side to assess what’s gotten my monitors so worked up.

Eren keeps his women’s health magazine balanced to his lap and I suppress a giggle and I explain that we were just getting a bit worked up talking about our wedding that we needed to start planning. She smiled and gently told us off, explaining that I could potentially ruin my healing process by getting stressed over anything like wedding planning, and that we’d have all the time in the world once I’d gotten better. 

She was right. As much as I love a good cheeky handy, there’s a time and a place for everything. 

I don’t regret it though.

\--- 

It’s two days later; Valentines Day, and I wake up around noon feeling rougher than a dry ball sack. Eren had snuck in some ground hot peppercorns for me to add to my ass-flavored morning soups yesterday which resulted in me having a fucking coughing fit after swallowing some the wrong way and having to be sedated so I wouldn’t collapse my lung again before it had fully healed. That was around lunchtime yesterday and I’d been asleep since. My chest burnt and I felt groggy as usual but it was okay as soon as I knew Eren would be here soon if he wasn’t already.

I had the nurse pass me the hefty, ornate wooden box on the table that Eren had brought and she curiously looks at it as rest a hand on it whilst she checks my vitals. 

“That’s an interesting box,” she eventually adds to the silence in the room. 

“It was my mother’s. I think it’s Japanese.” I would shrug indifferently but I can’t be arsed. I hurt all over after yesterday’s coughing spat. 

“Was she from there?” she asks. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked. I’ve been told that apparently I look a little bit Asian but I can’t see it personally. I can only go off my mum’s looks; my anonymous sperm donor for a father could have been any nationality. 

I shrug at her, “Nah, I wonder where Eren-” and right on cue, Eren enters with a packet of crisps from the vending machine down the hall. 

“Hey Eren. C’mere.” I couldn’t care less that there’s a nurse in the room with us, I point at the box for Eren to open. He stares blankly at me. “What?” I ask. 

“You want me to open it?” He says, with a pink dusting covering his usually light mocha colored cheeks. 

“No I want you to stick your manhood in the keyhole and strut around the hospital with your dick in a box.”

At this comment, the nurse leaves. 

Eren simply glares at me whilst I grin a cheeky shit-eating grin at him, swirling my left fist around in small circles as I sing jovially “See, I’m wise enough to know when a gift needs giving…” 

“Please st-”

“…and I got _just_ the one”

“Levi!” Eren whines pathetically, almost dying of laughter.

“Something to show you that _you are second to none_ ” I finish with a laugh, locking eyes with him though, letting him know I’m serious about what I’m saying, even if it is from a stupid ass song. 

Eren goes to open it, but it’s locked. He frowns and looks up at me like a lost puppy. I point to his neck. 

“Oh, shit!” he exclaims, pulling out the key I’d given him for Christmas which he now keeps around his neck twenty-four-seven. Well done, Eren. Universe, if you think I’m engaged to this moron for his intelligence and deep conversations, you are grossly mistaken. Eren shuffles the box to face him as he leans down toward it to wiggle the key into the lock. It unlocks with a quiet click, and he pulls back to sit upright, seemingly bracing himself. 

“It’s not porn, is it?” he asks me with a huge grin on his face. 

“Why do you always question my surprises as being pornographic?” I ask him, laughing as I recall our spat in the cinema that once. 

“Because usually whenever you try to surprise me, you or I, or usually both of us end up naked.” 

“Touché” I say with a proud smirk. He’s not wrong. 

Eren rolls his emerald eyes and turns his attention back to slowly and carefully lifting the hinged lid on the box. I’ve not looked in this box for quite some time, but I know full well exactly what it contains. Eren pokes his head nervously over into the box and his eyebrows furrow together and he tilts his head to the side, brushing some hair from his eyes afterwards. 

“Um. Levi. You were saying?” My eyes widen and I can’t help but bark out an obnoxious laugh as he pulls out a long strip of very old condoms. 

“I forgot those were in there!” I laugh freely at him, trying to bat them out of his hand to spare me from his teasing. He quickly settles and lets me toss the condoms towards the bin on the opposite side of the room. They don’t quite reach the rim, but fuck off I’m not left handed. Either way, they can fucking stay there because Eren and mine’s attention turn to the two photographs he removes from the box. 

Both photographs are visibly old, although well taken care of. They are stored in plastic sleeves to preserve them as best as possible, and one doesn’t have any information on the back aside from the branding of the photograph paper. The other simply has ‘K.A’ written on the back in faded pencil. Eren finds this one first and the image is of a young woman with large, clear grey eyes. She has long black hair and doesn’t smile and it looks as though she’s most likely in her early twenties. 

The second photograph is of the same woman perhaps years later with a young, black-haired boy who doesn’t look any older than ten. They are both stood in front of what looks like an aquarium feature.

“Who’s this?” Eren asks, studying both pictures, one in each hand. 

“That’s my mum,” I tell him. He flips them both over to study the backs and his eyes travel to the penciled initials.

“What does K.A stand for?”

“Kuchel Ackerman.”

“Oh. She’s beautiful… or um, she was” he frowned softly, still studying them, likely comparing them to me since he kept looking up. “You look just like her… where was she from?” 

“Look in the box” I tell him. He places the photos carefully back inside the box and pulls out a small dark green book. He looks at the front and smiles softly. _Republic of South Africa_.

“Aha” 

“Yeah I think she immigrated before having me.” 

“Mm.. Cool.” Eren hummed, carefully dividing his attention back towards his crisps, which had gone abandoned for a short while. “For a big box there’s pretty much nothing in here…” he remarks, pulling out the final object. I flick my fingers to get him to give it to me before he opens it and he hands it over, pouring his crisp crumbs into his mouth, munching loudly as I try to open the box. With acute difficulty, I pry the box open and face it toward him. The box is old velvet and sort of fraying around the joins, but inside is nestled a black onyx, diamond and green emerald, silver engagement ring. It is obviously in an art deco style, and looks like an antique from maybe the twenties or possibly thirties. 

Eren’s eyes widen, his mouth drops open, and in his true to form, sexy self, a piece of chewed potato crisp falls out of his mouth and onto my lap.

What was I saying about being in love with this loser?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, just hit 90k. :D


	23. ...I Wanna Be With You...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. 
> 
> Before the Epilogue, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: added a little to the end. 
> 
> I recommend listening to Mac's "Everywhere" for this one. It's the song I loved throughout the entire fic. :)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> (Contains a wee bit of smut toward the end.)

It’s discharge day. Halle-fucking-lujah. Nine weeks in hospital, five of which practically comatose and the other four weeks completely bedridden or half asleep until only recently. I’m still going to need time to rest from a bed, but at least the doctors are letting me do it from my own (and Eren’s) at home now, which I’m relieved about. I’m slowly but surly turning fucking insane in this clinical box room. At least if they’d put me in an open ward I’d be able to people watch. Suppose I wouldn’t get any more sleep though, in that case. 

My chest has healed enough for Krista to strap a proper shoulder brace around it and I’m given a repeat prescription for any trouble my shitty shoulder decides to give me. Eren pockets it and helps arrange my belongings that I’d been wearing over two months ago, and I’m taken out to the car in a wheelchair, despite the fact that I have two perfectly fucking good legs attached to my body. 

I gathered all of my ‘get well soon’ cards from my little notice board at the hospital. Apparently Eren was being inundated with them at home so brought them all in for me to look at, which was nice. I made a point to read every single one on our way home from the hospital and there were that many I kept reading once I’d settled into bed once we’d gotten home. They were mainly from Hange and the guys at work, although there were some from colleagues and old acquaintances I’d completely forgotten about. For example the hospital staff put one together, the local police station did one and so did Mike’s BDE office. 

There was even an article printed in the paper about how I had “courageously leaped in front of a bullet for my lover”. They made me out to sound like some local hero, and as the weeks went by I’d be stopped in the street and praised for my actions by the odd person who recognized me. Eren informed me that while I was comatose, there had been quite a lot of news coverage about it and Duvar had been receiving bouquets of flowers from people who’d thought someone died there. It was a bit creepy but at the same time I was glad I was alive, and appreciated the gesture. 

It was unsettling to see someone had laid stocks down amongst the flowers, but other than a brief chilling moment before Eren linked his hand around my arm I thought nothing more of it. 

For the first month or two that I spent recovering from home, Eren waited on me hand and foot like a stupidly sexy servant. He’d bring my tea to me shirtless, the fucking tease. The first time we tried going at it, on his birthday, my breathing got a bit heavy (as it would during foreplay) and he started to worry and stopped. It was awkward, but I promised I wouldn’t hold it against him and we’d try again at another point when I’d recovered more. 

It seems as my lung and chest healed it’s ever so slightly altered the volume level of my deeper breath intake. It takes a while for us to get used to, but eventually we manage to get back into the swing of things. We take it easy to begin with but before we know it Eren’s got me up against the kitchen island having his sweet glorious way with me. 

Besides the amazingly glorious, multiple rounds of hot sex, I’d also started to go back to work, one day a week once my shoulder was pain-free enough to wear out of a sling. As the months carried on, and as soon as I was confirmed as back full time, Sina (or more accurately Hange) threw a huge ‘welcome back’ party for me and everyone got a little more drunk than was probably appropriate for a work due. I may or may not have serenaded Eren multiple times at the karaoke corner. 

Over the healing process, I’d found my thoughts would dip in quality now and then. The pain in my shoulder made me miserable for a lot of sleepless nights and I’d spent a fair few sick days off work since the pain would wrack my entire back. Not to mention the ugly marred skin on my chest. At one point Eren even found me measuring up band-aids to try and see if they’d fit over my bullet wound, which was now a pink scar. 

Needless to say once I’d recovered enough to return to the gym I was starting to pick up a lot more, being able to move my shoulder more freely and without pain. I’d started building up my muscles again and I started slowly feeling a lot more comfortable in my own skin. The hole on my chest simply joined the rest of the repertoire of scarred knife slashes, burn marks and needle pricks. 

Annie was arrested, tried and imprisoned for attempted murder. She wouldn’t be getting out any day soon, and from what we heard in the news the Shift scene had completely died off, trying to survive off of dwindling stocks that had existed prior to my cook. They were desperately low before then, now they were almost extinct. 

In the end, it took just over seven months for my arm and shoulder to be fully mobile again, at which point we were sat in the office with a pot of rooibos tea with last year’s Christmas gift from Eren hooked up to my laptop, organizing some mix tapes for our upcoming road trip to the revival festival Eren had gotten me tickets for last year. 

“Levi, make sure _Everywhere_ is on there,” He tells me adamantly. 

“I thought you wanted-” 

“Yeah, yeah I know” the brat cuts me off. “We have a lot already but I want a tape for easy listening, you know?” he smiles at me almost _too_ sweetly to be innocent. 

“I’m not fucking on the car again.” 

“Damn.” He laughs and I revel in his contagious smile. 

I insert another tape and drag a few slower choice songs into the playlist, getting it ready for a CD. We’d narrowed down a few songs we wanted at our wedding reception for our first dance, and agreed to listen to the same playlist of chosen songs as we drove down to the festival. After the weekend, hopefully we’d be able to agree on a song. Or so that was the plan. The wedding was coming up in the winter and we’d organized most of the details already. 

It wasn’t a particularly stressful experience planning the wedding because we vowed to keep it simple. That and a bit of teamwork, we split the tasks evenly and organized it effectively. A task is only complex if you make it so, so we broke it down and got it the fuck done. 

“I can’t wait for the dancing, Levi!” Eren swayed gleefully in his seat, holding onto the pull ties of his hoodie with a wistful look on his face. 

“We’ll finally get to put our classes to the test, huh?” 

“Yep!” 

“I’ll finish these up, go make sure you’ve got everything packed. We’ve gotta go early tomorrow so I don’t want to waste any time later this afternoon when I could be doing… other things.” I teased. Eren perked up at that and dropped everything he was doing, standing and saluting me.

“Yes sir!” he marched right out and I heard him clattering about in the bathroom down the hall. 

We’d started taking mixed dance classes casually whenever we had the time and energy after work. We’d both agreed that one particular style was one of our new favorites and it beat going to the gym every single time. We’d agreed that we would take specialized classes before the wedding just so we could give the crowd a little pleaser to go alongside our chosen theme. We both had a bit of a shameless flare for showing off when we really wanted to, so we figured we’d strut our sexy stuff on our wedding day with absolutely no shame whatsoever. 

Wedding aside, we had a birthday party to attend. 

Mine to be precise, from _last year_. 

I wrapped up burning my CD’s and transferring them to cassettes and labeled them accordingly. I tidied my desk and by this time, Eren’s noises had completely subsided and I briefly wondered what he’d been distracted by. 

“Eren?” I call down the hall. No answer.

“Oi! Eren!” The fuck did he go? I duck my head around into the kitchen and he’s not there. I turn back towards the bedroom and slide past our small joint suitcase to find the bed sheets containing a large, Eren-shaped lump. 

“Oh, I wonder _where_ Eren went?” I muse loudly and deliberately. I even look around the room in mock confusion, rubbing my chin. The Eren-shaped lump lies impressively still, and makes no noise. I carefully line myself up with the bed lump and launch myself on top of it. 

“Aha!” I attempt to surprise him, but my face collides with a duvet full of fucking pillows and suddenly I feel a pair of strong arms wrap around my middle from behind and a body press against my back, pinning me to the pillow pile with his full weight. The air leaves my lungs in a flash and I squeal girlishly in surprise before cursing in an attempt to regain any shred of manliness. 

The heavy weight on my back lightens as I can only assume Eren props himself onto his hands and knees, looming over me as I catch my breath. I can feel his hot breath on the back of my neck as he leans close to kiss my neck and shoulder, moving his hand down my arm slowly and further down my side, resting on my waist.

“Mmm.. Eren” I mumble out, getting comfortable on the cushioned duvet. He tosses himself to my side and lies on the bed on his left side whilst I turn onto my right to face him. I lean in for a quick kiss and we spend a long moment just looking at one another, tangled in each other’s limbs. 

“I’m so glad you’re alive,” he whispers after a long moment of silence. 

I smile at him, closing my eyes and cuddling up against his chest.

“Me too.” 

\--- 

Some late afternoon hanky-panky and an early (thoroughly fucked-out) night later, we’re up, dressed and out in the drive. Eren’s getting into the MG and I give him a firm kiss, handing him the mix tapes I made for him. He set up his sat-nav and hooked his phone up to charge as I moved around the car to get into the Cuda. We’d had both cars serviced recently so there should be no issues getting to the venue to showcase these bad boys. I’ve got two suit bags lying flat on the back seat and the suitcase in the trunk. 

Eren’s faffing with whatever, so I start my engine up and rev it as loudly as I can, despite it being about seven in the morning. Fuck the neighbors, it’s my birthday. I roll my window down and smirk as he looks up, startled, dropping his phone. He fumbles to pick it back up and tells me to “hold it right there!” as he holds it up, snapping a selfie of himself in the MG with me sat in my own car to his side in the background. 

“Let’s go, brat” 

He fires his engine up and we pull out. It would be an hour and a half drive along the valley and into the flats along the side of the adjoining mountain, and we’d agreed to use the back-roads no one really used, so we could have a little fun along the way. With the sat-nav in the MG, I followed closely behind. My shoulder would occasionally stiffen up after a long time of not moving it, so I made sure to roll it around a few times as I drove so it wouldn’t get too inactive. 

As we approached the side end of the valley, exiting the woodland, we drove up and out onto the mountainside, where you had a far, clear view of the greenery for miles and miles, eventually sloping down toward the sea. We’d be driving just around the edge of the tall hills into a smaller, flatter region where the small racetrack and festival ground was held. The hillside was littered with spots of purple heather and patches of it had already started to turn a rusty copper colour for the winter. The grasses were a mixture of light greens, yellows and died off browns and the sky was a dreary grey. The temperature was still warm though and the entire view was stunning. I’d not driven out this way too many times before but no matter what time of year you come out; it was guaranteed to blow you away. I’d love to see the look on Eren’s face right now, but I suppose it will have to wait for our next trip where we’re not taking both cars. 

We turn out onto a very long stretch of straight road and Eren gently slows the MG to roughly twenty miles an hour, to which I respond by pulling up alongside him. There are no cars coming in the opposite direction for what looks like miles, so I can comfortably drive by his side for some time. He’s got his mix tape blasting out ‘Everywhere’ by Fleetwood Mac and I roll my eyes as he sings along in that goofy, animated way he seems to live his life. 

“Oh I… I wanna be with you everywhere!” he coos over across the sounds of the engines and the wind. My heart swells with warmth and I blow him a kiss as I turn my music up even louder than his. I’ve not got our wedding tape in at the moment, which is just as well, because I’m sick of this pansy fucking sweet stroll in the countryside bullshit. 

We’re driving sports cars on a clear strip of _drag_ space. 

Eren’s _Everywhere_ is very quickly drowned completely out by the deep rumble of ‘Barracuda’ and I shift, slamming my foot down on the gas. The only look I get from Eren before I speed off is his eyes narrowing into a fiery glare of determination. I allow myself to grin a little as I sing along, feeling the purr of the engine and the whipping of the warm late summer wind through my open windows. The wind tickles the back of my neck and I shift into top gear but not going all out. _Yet._

My smile instantly disappears however when I spot a flash of red in my side mirror, only to be whizzed past by the red MG, Eren’s massive shit-eating grin the last thing I see before the back of his car. 

“You little fucker!” I yell although I know he can’t hear. I adjust myself and floor the gas pedal, very quickly catching up. The MG is a cute little car and it’s fast, I’ll give her that, but my Cuda’s engine is about twice as big so it’s more than easy to catch up to him. There’s no turns in the road for another couple of miles so we’ve got plenty of time to play. 

I pull behind him briefly to let a car drive past and then just as quickly pull back out to drive alongside him, both of us going about eighty. Eren yells from the convertible “What’s a matter old man? Can’t catch up?” 

“Ha! Like hell I can, you little brat!” I smirk and turn my eyes back to the clear road surrounded by the beautiful scenery and proceed to leave him in my dust. Once I slow to the upcoming corner, now driving on the correct side of the road, Eren eventually catches up and remains behind me since now we’re no longer on the clear and flat. I simply see him making faces at me from my rear view mirror for the next ten minutes until we find somewhere for him to overtake, to which he sticks his tongue out as he passes me to take the lead with the directions again. I simply flip him my favorite birdie and allow him to take the lead. 

We arrive to the venue hotel at roughly eight-fifteen, a little early, but that’s okay because we have to get dressed and find our parking spaces. Our cars are of similar years, so we’ll be somewhat close together. We opted not to race today, what with having an interest in preserving our cars. That and Eren would probably get competitive and do someone a fucking injury.

I pull out the suit bags and hand Eren his after he’s removed our suitcase. We let ourselves into the lobby of the hotel and we check in, get our room key and head up. Eren gives my left shoulder a playful nudge as we’re in the elevator and it takes all of my remaining willpower to not jump him in the lift. 

We let ourselves into our room and I lay my heavy suit bag down on the bed. Eren takes his into the bathroom and we agree to only show one another once we’re fully costumed. Apparently it makes it more fun this way? 

Don’t ask me where I got it from, but I got my hands on a genuine British military officer’s uniform from the forties and had it tailored to fit my short frame. The event dressing had to be anywhere from the forties to the sixties, so I went for world war two. I’m fairly confident that Eren’s dressed up as fucking Danny from Grease. He’s really shit at hiding things. 

I slip into my dark green uniform and adjust my tie, tucking it into my shirt. I rest my hat under my arm and tell Eren I’m ready. He slips out from the bathroom and lo and behold. Grease. 

He’s got a torn and mock-dirty pair of denim pants on, a pair of black boots, a tight white t-shirt and a black leather jacket with two wings crossing embroidered onto the back and left arm. He saunters out, sticking a strip of gum into his mouth and pulls a comb out of his back pocket to go over his ridiculously gelled hair-do. It’s fucking hilarious but it’s also remarkably impressive looking at the amount of effort he’s put in, even if he does look a little bit like a Turkish Elvis wannabe. 

He saunters out, acting like the dogs bollocks until he sets his green gaze in my direction and stops. 

“What?” 

“I never thought you’d look so _good_ as a… uh…” 

“Military officer?” I finish his sentence. He rakes his eyes up and down me, ambling over to wrap his arms around my waist. 

“Uh, yeah” he literally cannot take his eyes off me. It’s strangely endearing. 

“Eyes up here, hot stuff” I chuckle, to which Eren simply grins mischievously, dipping his thumbs into the fronts of my hips just enough to have me groaning as I fall against him lazily. 

“That’s _cheating_ ,” I mumble against his chest as he leans down to kiss my neck. I can’t bring myself to complain any further aside from a low grumble as I tilt my head to the side, giving him more skin. He responds immediately, pulling me tightly against himself to prevent me pulling away as he sucks on a patch of my neck, leaving his mark. Hickeys don’t particularly bother me when I know I can cover them, but since today I’m going to be surrounded by seas of strangers, I couldn’t give a flying fuck. 

Eren slides his hands around behind my hips and down to cup my arse cheeks, giving them a gentle squeeze as he kisses up and along my neck, jaw and cheek, eventually settling a kiss on the tip of my nose. 

“As much as I’d love to have my brains fucked into this mattress right now, we’re gonna be late.” I tell him, freeing myself from his embrace. 

“Ooh, can I call you Captain today?” he asks as he tidies his gelled hair in the mirror.

“Call me whatever the fuck you want” 

“Okay… _’whatever the fuck you want’_ ” I don’t even bother to turn to look at his smug little smile. He thinks he’s so fucking funny. Given our choice of attire, we decide to swap keys and arrive to the ‘in-character’ areas in each other’s cars. American car with an American outfit for Eren, and British on British for mine. I’ll admit the dark green would have been amazing for my look right about now, but I could seriously have my way with Eren on the hood of the Cuda right about now. 

He’s leant against it in that fucking leather jacket with one foot on the door, thumbs hanging from his jeans pockets. His tee is just tight enough to be able to make out the definition of his stomach muscles. 

“Holy shit, wait right there!” I pull out my phone. Eren looks up at me with a smirk and tilts his head a little to the side as he smiles for me as I take a photo. Just as I’m setting it to my phone’s display image, he practically fucking _skips_ over to me, begging to take one of me from his own phone. I have no idea how to stand in front of the MG so I just slip my officer’s cap on and hold my hands behind my back at ease. 

“You actually look like you’re from the forties…” 

“Funny that, being the entire point and all, let’s go.” 

We jump in our respective cars and drive out from the hotel lot past a hell of a lot of other vintage cars. They are everywhere. I have to force myself to watch where Eren is going else I’d get hopelessly distracted by all the beautiful automobiles. 

We park up on the gravel, literally right next to one another which is useful, and proceed to spend half the morning speaking with complete motor head strangers about cars. Eren and I lock up and head over to the races in the afternoon and we’re each collared to take photos with various other people in various other eras’ attire. I instantly get distracted by a spitfire parked at the back end of the field, finding a whole swag of other people dressed similarly to me. 

About thirty photo opportunities and about as many free pimms later, Eren and I are laughing our heads off, drunk but not wasted, on the spectator bleachers, yelling at losing cars and admiring pretty ones when they whoosh past. I stand and tug on Eren’s jacket sleeve and when he asks where we’re going I simply lick my lips and tug harder. He doesn’t need any other information. We carefully step down from the stands, avoiding tripping over small children and managing not to knock any hotdogs or popcorn from anyone’s hands. 

As soon as we’re on level ground again I pull Eren into my long stridden walk, pulling him behind the audience stand. Before I get a chance to check if anyone is nearby, or to pull him up against me I’m being pushed against the tarp covered metal bars of the stand, my mouth assaulted with a hot, passionate kiss. I moan shamelessly into Eren’s mouth, which tastes of mint and rum as our tongues glide into each other’s mouths. I only entertain his sloppy, desperate kiss for a short moment before pushing him back off me. 

“Fucking horny brat, get the fuck off for a minute,” I push him back off me and he stumbles, looking amused, his lips puffy and a small trail of saliva stuck to his chin. Disgusting. “Take it easy, loverboy. We have _all_ weekend, remember?”

“Precisely” he says, stepping back to snake his hands around my waist but not moving anywhere closer than a loose hug, our thighs touching but our chests apart. “All weekend to do with you as I please…” he purrs seductively into my ear, giving the outer shell a quick lick before taking the lobe between his teeth. I unconsciously find myself tilting my head to the side and running my hands a little lower from where they’d been rested on his sides. 

I turn slightly to assess our surroundings before locking eyes with the Velcro that straps the audience stand’s tarp cover together. I pull away from Eren and start at the bottom, ripping it apart into a hole big enough for this officer to drag his 50’s greaser fiancé underneath. Eren’s giggling like a fucking kid and I’m not making any noises too different. There’s a feeling of adrenaline increasing in my veins as we sneak beneath the cheering crowd, some of which are merely feet away from the tops of our heads. 

There are loud cheers, thuds, thunks and clattering noises of footsteps and angry children’s feet stomping. Whenever there is a lull in the cheering there are loud noises coming from the cars racing past. 

_Not a soul can hear us under here._

We both take a moment to survey our surroundings. The bleacher’s dim lit belly is crisscrossed with metal support beams, ropes holding tarpaulin on and hard, dry dead ground covered with wilted light green grass. It’s obvious that this stand is a temporary fixture. Eren grins at me with childlike amusement and I get the feeling we’re both feeling as if we’re doing something we shouldn’t be. It’s a similar feeling to calling in sick to work when you’re fine. We shouldn’t really be under here, but here we are, and it simply adds to the adrenaline coursing through my veins. 

After getting accustomed to the various threatening-non-threatening noises that are abundant under here from above, Eren is approaching me as he shuffles out from his black leather jacket, hanging it up on one of the protruding metal scaffolds. 

“So you’ll hang your clothes up here…” I drawl as he slips his hands around my waist, tugging at the back of my tucked in shirt. “…but you won’t at home.” I deadpan, my facial expression deathly serious, arms folded. 

“Wouldn’t want it to get scratched, now would we?” He places a soft kiss on my nose, to which I scrunch my face up and glare at him. 

“What’s got into you?” I ask as I feel him slipping his surprisingly cool fingertips underneath my shirt behind my back, caressing up my spine and seeking out hidden skin beneath my vest. 

“Mmh, nothing…” He hums as he un-tucks the front of my shirt. I decide to let him with his undressing. For now… 

I straighten out my back and unfold my arms as he runs his hands up my chest and dips his fingers beneath the breast of my jacket, slipping it up and off my shoulders. He gently removes it from behind me, leaning incredibly close to press soft kisses against my lips as he folds the jacket in half and hangs it over a metal beam. 

I on the other hand am getting impatient with his soft, gentle touches and the roars of the crowd above me only make me want to be as noisy as possible. Perhaps I can persuade him into using a little more energy.

Eren looks down, surprised, then back up at me as if to say ‘how did that get there?’ as I now have my hand cupping the semi in his jeans. Maybe _that_ will wake him up a bit. If not, I’m sure this will…

Eren gasps as I take a handful of his hair and pull his head to the side, kissing and biting at the tanned skin there. I do my utmost to ensure my sense of urgency is portrayed and Eren seems to catch on, grasping at my waist and pulling me flush against his body as he grinds his hips against my lower abdomen. I pull his hair back, forcing his mouth against mine, teeth clashing and wasting absolutely zero time in plundering that gorgeously hot, warm cavern. His tongue doesn’t fight mine for long, and Eren allows me to have my way with his mouth. I bite at his lower lip and pull back to look at him through dark, hooded and needy eyes. 

Next thing I know, the white tee is whipped off over his head, belts are pulled furiously from their loops and dark green shirts are ripped from their buttons. My tie is pulled haphazardly off from my neck and various other items of clothing are briskly left strewn across the dry grass in the shadowy lighting. 

A strong pair of arms pushes me to the ground with quite some force, only to be cradled and caught from the impact of the ground by a strong pair of arms, which proceed to gently place me beneath his body, smothering me in loving caresses and passionate kisses. Every noise which could come from the rowdy crowd above, every stomp and every cheer, every whirring of speeding tires and every honk of a horn is completely lost to the pair of us as we are encapsulated by nothing but each other. 

“I love you Levi,” Eren breathes against my lips after pausing his tender ministrations, allowing a hand to rake down my bare chest, freeing me of my belt and the top half of my pants. I can only groan in response, rolling my hips up beneath him to gain any and all friction I can greedily get. Of all the times we’ve ever had sex, this is the first time it feels like I’m being _loved_ , to the core. 

In every movement I can feel Eren’s sincerity and I find myself questioning whether it was a new thing, or whether it had actually been there all along and I’d just never allowed myself to feel it. 

Either way, every touch feels like fire. 

“Haah, Levi you’re such a good boy, aren’t you?” Eren croons against my lips as he slips his hands down my waist and to my hips, drawing small circles into the dip above the bone. I’m about to moan loudly but the crowd lulls in volume just at that moment and I pull a hand over to cup my mouth, stopping anything aside from a languid groan from coming out. Eren just chuckles quietly at me, eyes hungry and lit with burning desire. 

He maneuvers his way down my body, leaving a hot trail of kisses and suckles down my chest, placing a particularly long one over the top of my gunshot wound. I desperately keep my hands practically fused to whatever body part of his I can reach as he scoots himself further down. His shoulders, neck and finally my hands rest into his messy, still slightly gelled and hair sprayed brown hair. 

Once nestled between my legs, he leaves a few more hickeys down my abdomen as he goes, and takes his dear sweet time as he kisses along my hipbones, tugging at my boxers enough to free my erection. He moves a hand to steady it facing towards him and he simply looks at it admirably. 

“Have I ever told you that you’ve got a beautiful cock?” Shut up and put it in already! 

I squirm impatiently beneath him and he gets the hint, gently kissing and licking the tip for a moment before filling his mouth to the brim. For a fleeting moment I feel the back of his throat touching the tip of my cock and I let out a shaky, satisfied sigh at the sensation. He keeps himself busy swirling his tongue around the shaft and occasionally brushing it across the tip, causing me to shudder beneath him. I give up my hold on his hair as he begins to slacken his jaw and dip deeper and deeper with each bob of his head. The feeling is driving me over the edge and any discomfort from lying on the ground is long forgotten. 

“Haa, Eren.. God don’t stop. Don’t you fucking dare stop…” 

He only responds by drawing back, giving me a firm suck, hollowing out his cheeks as he does so, only to plunge back down again straight to the root, nestling the tip of his nose into the pubic hair. His tongue traces every single ridge and dip along the length of my cock as if committing it to memory for the hundredth time. My stomach begins to twitch just enough to let me know I’m getting close and the sensations burning up my spine and into the back of my head is simply _euphoric_. 

My shameless moans do not relent until Eren moves his free hand between my legs, one hand gripping at the base of my cock and the other rubbing circles around my entrance. Eren’s left hand gently twists at the saliva slickened base of my arousal whilst his right dips a single finger in, all the way to the second knuckle, massaging and caressing my inner walls as if they were made of velvet. I can’t help but make down right sultry whines and whimpers, which are entirely drowned out by the crowd above us and Eren simply keeps quiet aside from the slick noises and occasional guttural groans he’ll emit to make my entire cock twitch from the vibrations of his throat. 

Eren soon works a second finger in, continuing to work his tongue around the tip of my cock and I praise myself momentarily for being able to last so long to this unrelenting pleasure. I let out a shaky, hoarse groan and finally hit my limit once Eren begins to scissor his fingers apart, stretching me open. 

I feel my toes curl within my combat boots and my back arches off the ground as I shake all over, my orgasm crashing over me like a blinding white heat. Every nerve ending electrifies and my vision starts to develop spots from where I’ve clenched my eyes shut so tightly for the brief moment. I feel myself come somewhat into the back of Eren’s throat and the delectable sensations wracking my body only intensify for a second wave as Eren greedily sucks me dry, milking me for anything and everything I’ve got for him. It’s as if I’ve provided a tap for a dehydrated man lost in the desert. 

A slightly obscene tap of bodily fluids, for none other than a dehydrated sex drive. 

Eren continues to stroke the base of my cock as he sucks, slowing down somewhat to help me ride out the remains of my climax. Once I fall limp and breathless beneath Eren, he laughs, his mouth sounding wet. “I’ve grown so used to you _not_ coming, that when you do, even if it’s a little, it’s always a surprise.”

I grumble and throw a hand over my chest, trying to regulate my breathing and letting my legs go limp at the hips. Eren wraps his arms around my thighs to hold them up and gently kisses along the inside of my thigh. 

“Come here, now,” I breathe out, eyes still closed. I can feel Eren’s warm body move back up again to press against mine, although I can feel him holding himself up somewhat since he’ll never lay on me with his full weight. Not after New Year’s. Despite the fact that I’ve more or less fully recovered aside from residual shoulder ache from my shitty scapula.

“Any other orders, _Captain_?” Eren asks as he runs his hands up my still sensitive sides, my skin feeling alight from his touch. I open my eyes and take a rough hold of his tousled brown hair once he’s close enough, breathing down his neck with a bestial growl that’s laced with need and lust. I’m not entirely sure from _where_ within me the noise comes from, but hey, there it is, and by the look on Eren’s face it’s sexy as fuck. His eyes narrow ever so slightly as he awaits my next words. 

“Yes.” I say, deadly serious. “I order you to _fuck me_. Right now.” 

Eren’s eyes light up much like mine would on Christmas morning. Similarly to my laboratory research team at SinaPharm, I won’t ask anything of anyone unless I know they can do it… “I can’t do that, but what I can do is make love to you…” he purrs at me with a cheeky smile tugging at his lips. I roll my eyes and am instantly distracted from any sassy retorts as Eren returns his ministrations to between my thighs. 

\--- 

Give it about an hour and a half later and my back is thoroughly on fucking _fire_. Eren tentatively pulls my shirt around my shoulders as I stretch my tired legs out from all the activity beneath the bleachers. That and being rubbed up and down along the dry ground has scratched the fuck out of my back. Clearly in the heat of the moment I couldn’t give a flying fuck but I cant help but regret not at least lying on top of my jacket, or _anything_. 

“Heh, sorry.” 

“Nah, we’ll just put something down on the ground next time…” I reply, to which Eren shoots me a grin after pulling his t-shirt up off from the ground. He’s got red scratches, bites and bruises all over his chest, neck and shoulders and from what I see on his back before he whips his shirt on over his head, it’s worse there. That’ll be sore in the morning. 

“So there’s gonna be a next time, huh?” he wiggles his eyebrows at me. I shrug. 

“Don’t see why not.” 

Eren chuckles softly and looks up towards the underside of the steps above us, resting his arms above his head onto a metal bar, leaning casually forward whilst holding himself up. I finish buckling up my pants and tuck my shirt in, wincing slightly as I tuck the back of my vest into my bottoms, which aggravates a scrape on my lower back. 

“That’s gonna leave a mark…” I say, although it’s almost completely drowned out by the sound of a car zooming past and the crowd going wild once more. Eren’s eyes drift upwards again and he simply smiles, so I wander over to him and rest my hands on his hips to step up onto my toes and give him a quick peck before heading towards my jacket he’d hung up earlier. 

“Oh, Levi?” Eren asks as he pulls his leather jacket on, getting the hint that I’m too worn out for another round. Not here at least. 

“Yeah?” I finish adjusting my tie and I button my top button. I’ve probably got a swarm of fresh, angry hickeys on my neck that the collar won’t cover but I can’t physically bring myself to give a single shit. 

“Did you listen to the tape on the way down?” 

“Yeah, you got a top three for our first dance?” 

“Yeah… do you?” 

“I do.”

We finish getting dressed, we not so subtly remove ourselves from underneath the bleachers as if nothing happened and we head back to our cars to return to our hotel. I personally can’t wait to get myself into a hot shower, what with all the fucking dirty outdoor shagging which had taken place earlier today.

We let ourselves in and Eren scurries over to the bedside table to get the notepad and a pen. I settle myself down onto the edge of the bed, beginning to remove my uniform in favour of getting the itchy fabric off my scrapes and scratches that are irritating the fuck out of my back. Eren excitedly hands over a piece of paper to me and quickly asks for me to write down my top songs I’d like. I do so, folding it in half and handing it to him. He writes his down, looking up at me as if I were a kid cheating on his test at fucking school, covering his scribbles with his free hand. He shoots me a mischievous grin and folds his paper secretively in half before handing it over. 

“On three?” he asks. I shrug and nod. 

He counts down and I flick the paper open on three, as does he. We turn silent for a moment before looking up at each other. I hadn’t expected the song we’d both match to be the one that does, but hey. 

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” I tell him, knowing full well he can see the song I’d written which matches what’s scribed before me.

“Number two?” 

“Yep.” 

“Deal.”


	24. ...Everywhere.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Epilogue

“Mikasa, stop it! It’s fine!” Eren yells through the closed bedroom door. I laugh quietly as Hange hands me a cup of tea. 

“Thanks, Hange” I tell her. 

“If you did it yourself you’d never be ready in time, come here!” Mikasa yells back. There’s clattering behind the door. 

“No problem, you ready?” Hange asks me. 

“Well we’re already married, technically.” I tell her with a shrug. 

Eren and I had been to the courthouse earlier this week to exchange vows and get the marriage sorted out on paperwork. It was always the original plan to put more effort into the after party than the actual formalities. Neither of us is particularly affiliated with any particular religion or ceremony, so we just figured we’d get it done more as a formality over anything else. Mikasa and Armin were there to witness and that was it. Everyone else had been invited to the reception. 

“Well I know _that_. I mean to celebrate?” Hange asks, rolling her eyes. We’d chosen a day where the majority of our friends and family would be able to attend and that day just happened to be today. Three days after the wedding. Thankfully I have recovered from my wedding night soreness, probably only in preparation for tonight. Oluo had been in touch after finding out through the news that I’d been shot and offered to hold our reception at the Magnolia as soon as he’d realized I was alive. Eren and I figured why not? We were being offered a beautiful venue, which meant a lot to the both of us, for nearly nothing to cost to rent. 

“If by celebrate you mean taking the world’s most satisfying shit and then having your arse fucked into the same consistency of an onion ring soaked in semen, then yes.” 

Hange looks mortified as the imagery pieces together in her mind. “Ew. That’s _way_ too much information, Levi!” she laughs out with what looks like a cringe. I roll my eyes, sipping my tea. 

I dust off my jet black, white pinstriped suit from any imaginary dust and stand up to straighten my back and shoulders out, rolling them back, then forward. I dip my head down to look at myself and adjust my perfectly crisp, white tie against my black dress shirt. I’m telling myself there’s nothing to be nervous of on repeat in my mind, but I can’t help but begin to feel restless as I wait for my husband to hurry the fuck up and get fucking dressed. It’s not that hard to put on a fucking suit. 

“You look fine.” Hange tells me. I nod slightly, hoping to convince myself more than anything. 

“Mhm. _Damn_ fine.” I smirk at Hange playfully. It’s her turn to roll her eyes. “I look like some sort of gangster…” 

“Wasn’t that the point?” 

The bedroom door swings open and Mikasa emerges dressed like a twenties flapper, complete with fingerwaved black hair, red feather boa and fringed cocktail dress. She emerges with Eren who’s in a white pinstripe suit, more or less the exact reverse of mine. 

“Whose idea was it to put Scruffy McGee over there in the white suit again?” I ask to no one in particular. Everyone knows he’s gonna get that shit filthy in no time flat. I’ll just have to guard him from all things dirty. Like red wine and Hange... and my mind. Not sure I can protect him against the last one. For long. 

I move myself over to Eren and eye him up and down. I’ll admit he looks ridiculous, but he still pulls it off and somehow manages to look sexy in a white pinstripe suit. He’s even got jet black suspenders to match my white ones. I wouldn’t be surprised if Armin had a hand in organizing these outfits, they are far too colour coordinated to be of Hange’s creation. They’d even gotten us matching trilby’s. 

Mikasa fusses over Eren’s hair only to have him snap at her in that loving sibling way he’s mastered, and Hange skips over to the door to get the car keys. I move the teacups to the kitchen and wash them as everyone gets ready to go.

It’s the first of January so the roads are clear so getting to the Magnolia is no issue. Hange, Mikasa and I had basically taken over Eren’s half-baked ideas and put something together we knew he’d love. Basically that means he has no fucking idea what’s going to be in this ballroom, other than a twenties theme if what we’re wearing is anything to go by. Eren and I look like fucking Italian Mafia and the way Hange and Mikasa are dressed up makes me feel like we’re off to a cabaret. 

“Leviii.” Eren whines as we’re driving down to the venue with Mikasa and Hange in the back.

“I’m not telling you.” He pouts. It’s criminally adorable. 

“Aw. _Please_?” 

“We’re _this_ fucking close and you want me to tell you now?” 

“You’re so easy to wind up, Levi” Hange hoots from the back seat, to which Eren simply snickers. He’s been spending far too much time with Hange since we joined the new research team at Sina and honestly he’s turning into her more each day with his stupid sense of humor and even worse jokes. 

“You’re waiting. End of discussion.” 

“Yes _Mum_.” Eren surrenders with a huff, simply placing a hand on the top of mine as I drive us through town, hitting every green light on the way. I park the noisy monstrosity of the Cuda outside the front of the venue and get out to see if I lost any tin cans on the way over. There’s two missing and the “Just Married” sign on the back is still attached, so I suppose that’s better than nothing. We’ve got our suitcase in the trunk ready for when we leave tonight for the honeymoon. I can’t wait to spend three weeks in the Middle East meeting Eren’s distant relatives in Istanbul. 

He tells me their tradition is to basically have a-whole-nother wedding when we arrive, and to basically eat for days and remain more or less in a state of intoxication for about a week. I’ll need the week after just to recover from my hangover. I don’t know what they’ll make of me when I arrive and they realize I’m a man, but I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. From what Eren tells me his mother’s side of the family is aware he’s gay and are very open people, and they’ll love me either way, which came as a relief. 

We’ll fortunately be staying with some of his family who live in a slightly more modern section of twenty-first-century Istanbul, where the people aren’t completely backwards like they are in the rural parts. I’m fucking nervous about meeting them, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the tiniest bit excited, too.

When we arrive at the Magnolia with it’s pretty lighting and elegant pillars of marble, we’re led through to the dining hall full of people we know dressed in similar twenties fashion. Eren’s jaw drops as we both take in the sight and everyone is stood around the edge of the dance floor, clapping and cheering. The magnolia tree isn’t in bloom, but the brilliant green leaves are still impressive. 

There’s a man situated on the bandstand with a microphone waiting for everyone to tone down the applause as we walk into the room and when they eventually shut up, I recognize it at Erwin. He’s got a navy pinstripe suit on with a round collared shirt, pointed brogues in a patent navy and white and his hair has been slicked back. The smooth bastard’s even got himself a striped walking stick to go with the look. 

“Welcome Eren and Levi!” he announces across the room. I take a short moment to look around and take in all the faces that have arrived to celebrate with us. All of Eren’s university friends, all of our work colleagues and more, even the owners of Duvar, Te-a Maria’s and even, to my surprise, Petra’s family have shown up. I make a note to myself to make a deliberate trip to thank every single one of them for coming. Especially her father, since he seemed to really like me. 

Erwin announces that “dinner is served!” gesturing with a huge sweep of his arm over towards a huge banquet style table full to the brim with food. 

Eren drags me over to the end of the hall and I notice that everything is put out in different shaped and sized containers ranging from oven pans to mixing bowls. General household cooking receptacles and Tupperware. Hange nudges my shoulder and informs me that everyone brought a dish, and that she’d organized it so that everyone brought something a little different so we’d have a good spread. It all looked fantastic and sure felt better than if we got event catering. Yes it would have been exquisite food, but this felt way more relaxed and homely, despite the venue. At the start of the table was the meat, leading into the fishes, vegetables, salads and finally dips, extras and desserts. At the end of the table led out to the dining areas around the outskirts of the dance floor. 

“Incredible” I breathed out, and I felt Eren’s hand squeeze mine. 

“Wow, you all made all of this?” Eren exclaims loudly and everyone around us nods with huge smiles on their faces, some with their cameras or phones out capturing Eren’s animated expressions and my slightly less animated ones, too. The most I’d crack were maybe subtle smiles, but I was genuinely beaming on the inside. 

The guests allowed us to get our food first and we went to find a seat somewhere. Nothing was pre-seated or organized like that. We didn’t want to force people next to people they didn’t want to. Let them pick their own fucking seats, I say. Weddings are often too strict and it draws away from the fun you ought to be having. It doesn’t need to be an expensive masterpiece or huge amounts of money spent on catering, music and venues. If you know the right people, you can get anything magnificent done on the cheap. Besides, it’s the company that really makes it. I doubt I’d enjoy myself half as much today if the hall were full of strangers. 

“Thank you Hange, for all your help.” I tell her earnestly as she sits next to me. Mikasa shows up and sits next to Eren and Armin proceeds to sit next to her. Around the rest of our table we have people come and go, telling us congratulations and wishing us well. 

Because we had no maids, groomsmen or parents for either groom, we didn’t even think to plan speeches, so it comes as a surprise to us when Armin gets up with a sheet of paper. He stands, making his way out to the food table in front of all of the seated eaters and taps his fork against a champagne flute. It makes a quiet noise with his timid tapping so he taps it a little harder to get it louder. 

He taps a little bit too hard though, and it shatters all over his hand. Eren dies of laughter until some poor soul scurries over to help him clean it up, his cheeks turning luminous red. It’s hilarious. 

Once composed and his sheet of speech is wiped off onto a napkin, he straightens up with his mic and Eren hollers over “I love you Armin!” as some sort of encouragement to the boy. 

“Right. Yes, Hello everyone, I’m Armin. Turns out Eren didn’t bother asking for a best man until five minutes ago, so I had to volunteer to do it.” He pauses for a short moment before continuing, rarely using his notes, only for prompt. 

“I’m sure you can all agree that the venue is beautiful?” Everyone cheers loudly; I just sit quietly leaning against Eren’s arm with our hands intertwined on his lap.

“And the grooms looks even better – I must say, whoever came up with the idea for a twenties gangster wedding is an absolute genius…” He grins a broad, toothy smile and I roll my eyes at him. He takes a cheeky little bow and earns himself a cheer from the crowd. I’ll hand it to the kid, it was a good idea and the venue looks stunning. Even the confetti on the table is in the shape of little semi-automatic guns which I can’t quite decide whether it’s amusing or grossly inappropriate considering I got shot this time last year and especially how Petra went out. It’s my wedding though, so I’ll go for amusing. What the hell. 

“So for those of you who don’t know who I am, I’m Eren’s best friend, and I promise I’m not here to share embarrassing stories from his childhood.” There are a few chuckles from the crowd. 

“Especially not the story of how we met when we moved in next door to the Yeagers and Eren scaled a fence at six years old so he could play in our paddling pool. Our parents weren’t sure whether to be angry or surprised.” I glance at Eren, smiling at him. He’s just slowly turning redder the more Armin speaks, but he can’t stop smiling either. 

“And then there’s the story I was definitely meant to not tell you all, like how Eren would build walls around the bottom of his bed to apparently ‘keep the monsters from getting out’. He’d look absolutely mortified if anyone tidied them away, namely because his real reason for building his walls was to hide the sheets from when he’d wet the bed.” Armin grins at Eren devilishly, to which Eren laughs and buries his tomato red face in his hands, leaning against me as if wanting to hide from the giggles of the crowd. 

“Eren was also very safety conscious, _believe it or not_. Carla would drive us to school and Eren was adamant on wearing his bike helmet in the car. Just in case.” 

Armin proceeded to share a few more embarrassing stories from Eren’s youth, some of which I’d not known which was amusing. I’d be sure to tease him about a few of them another day. Armin growing up with him provided the boy a wealth of well observed hilarity. 

“Anyway I can’t say I’ve ever seen Eren so happy before, so I wish you both all the happiness in the world. I’ve seen Eren change so much over these last few years and definitely for the better. He’s matured beyond words. I don’t know what you’ve done to Eren, Levi, but keep doing it.” Armin said with a soft smile. 

“It’s called fucking!” I yell across the hall, which earns me a few raunchy hollers and whoops. Eren gasps and shoves me away from him, covering his face, as he blushes deep red. 

Armin laughs and joins in with the applause before subtly announcing that he didn’t actually have anything else planned to say, so takes his seat. We applaud him loudly and Erwin takes the mic from his hand, standing in his place. 

“Oh fuck,” I grumble under my breath, eyeing up Erwin with sharp narrowed eyes. 

Eren looks over at him, seemingly having no clue what he may say. Eren doesn’t know much of mine and Erwin’s past, other than the basic storyline behind it, so this is bound to be interesting. What makes it even more worrying for me is when Hange slinks off to stand by his side. She remains quiet though, which is odd. 

“Hello all, and thank you for coming tonight” he begins smoothly. “My name is Erwin and I’m a friend of Levi’s. We go back about fifteen years, and I first met him when he was probably in his darkest moments.” Suddenly the crowd went quiet and everyone was intently listening. I wasn’t too keen on him sharing the gritty details of how I’d behaved, but I’m sure he knows me well enough to respect the fact I don’t like people to know. I trust him. 

“When I first met Levi he was a wreck. I’d offered to help him out of his dark place, but he constantly refused me.” I feel Eren’s hand squeeze mine tightly. I keep my steely eyes locked on Erwin’s pale blue. 

“Levi was very unapproachable to begin with…” Hange leans in to finish Erwin’s sentence. “That’s an understatement Erwin!” which earns her a chuckle from the crowd, which returns to it’s state of silence again. It felt as if everyone in the room were suddenly overly interested in knowing more about me, which was odd. Erwin nodded at Hange and he continued. 

“He was abrasive, rude and closed off to people. Like a stray dog.” I glare at him with no real malice; I know he’s right. I was practically fucking rabid, losing my mind on whatever I could get my hands on.

“He eventually gave into my request to help him and we saw him out on the straight, where he met Zoe here at University. I’m not going to say too much to embarrass Levi, as that’s not my place, so with no further ado…” 

_Fuck_.

Don’t do it Erwin. 

He started to hand the microphone to Hange. 

Fuck, too late. I groan loudly and throw my head back, rolling my eyes for the millionth fucking time.

“Levi my little buttercup! You’ve gotten married again!” she squeals. Nails to a black board. 

“So Armin shared a few embarrassing stories about Eren, so I feel it’s only my rightful place as best friend of the other groom to do exactly the same thing!” the crowd were back to cheering and Erwin stayed in place, although took a step back from Hange’s fucking flailing. 

“So the year is… What year was it Levi when you had an absolute obsession with David Bowie?” 

“Fuck you, Hange!” 

“So the year was ‘Fuck you, Hange’ and Levi basically wanted to buy himself one of those jackets with the massive shoulder pads, and it was hilarious. When that little man wants something he glazes over and goes into this semi-state of determination which is super hard to snap him out from. It’s hilarious!” 

Eren is dying of laughter beside me. I’ve pulled my hand away to fold my arms and glare daggers at her. 

“Oh oh oh! Did I mention everyone, that during this same Goblin King phase as I like to call it, that Levi went through… he decided to bleach his black hair, thus turning it bright Bowie-orange.” The crowd were in a similar state of stitches to Eren. I however am just fucking sat here, dying on the inside thanks to shit I thought was long gone. 

“That was one fucking time, Hange. For Halloween!” I shouted at her, it only fueled the amusement echoing through the ballroom as people continued to nibble their food or get up for more. 

“One time yes, but you didn’t dye it back for at least a month!” she replied. 

“Pfft” 

“Right!” Hange clapped her hands together. “On a serious note, for those of you who don’t know me I met Levi at University since we were on the same degree, and he was the only person to ever come _close_ to my own brilliance in a laboratory.” 

“So fucking modest, as always.” I mutter to Eren, who wraps an arm around my shoulder. I just lean against him and enjoy his warmth. Hange is an idiot, but I love her. 

“Yeah, but what she’s not aware of is your brilliance in other areas…” Eren purrs into my ear, kissing my cheek. I feel my face heat up ever so slightly at what it is he’s implying but easily shake it off once Hange continues speaking. 

“…Levi and I ended up sharing a dorm room and it was my job to keep him out of trouble. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. The amounts of times he locked me out and forced me to annoy the shit out of him through the door until he opened it… I lost count! Not to mention the chain smoking without opening the window. The amount of times he’d set off the fire alarms in the early hours of the morning.” 

Just the way Hange was speaking about me from how I used to be made me realize just how far I had actually come. The man she was describing was, as she described me “was an annoying, immature little shit with zero regard for other people beside himself”, was ridiculously accurate, even if I’d cringe admitting it. 

“Anyway, Levi. I’m glad you’ve finally found happiness.” She shoots an apologetic look towards Petra’s parents who just smile in response. Every flower arrangement in the ballroom was built primarily using stocks, which when they spotted them, made Petra’s parents almost cry. Oluo had made it a permanent thing in the Magnolia, which was sweet of him. 

“Eren, take care of my boy Levi. It’s down to you now.” She waved at Eren and everyone applauded loudly, including Eren and myself. Like I say, a moron, but I love her to bits. Erwin carefully takes the mic once more as Hange trots to sit back beside me, to which I punch her in the fucking arm hard enough for it to hurt but not enough to leave a bruise. 

“I’m pleased that you did accept my help, Levi. Because if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here today to see the smile on that man’s face right now.” He gestures to Eren who’s on the verge of fucking tears and I pull him over to me and press my lips against his. Much like under the bleachers a few months back, the clapping and yelling all blurs away and all I know is Eren’s lips against mine. Pure bliss. 

I sit back and grin, spotting something out of the corner of my eye. 

There was a small film crew in the corner, cameraman pointed in my direction. I turned to Eren and nudged him with a questioning look on my face, then turned to Hange when Eren looked just as bewildered as me. 

“Oh, I hope you don’t mind, these are the guys who covered your story this time last year. We got talking and I may have said you were alive and well, getting married after all, and they asked if they could film part of the reception as a little piece to show the world that you got the happy ending you deserve after your… act of heroism. I’m sure they’ll have some papers for you to sign but we can do that when you’re back from Turkey.” 

I don’t know what it was I felt in that moment but it wasn’t unpleasant. They could do whatever the fuck they wanted, I had Eren and I had my life to share with him. I couldn’t possibly ask for more than Hange and Mikasa had helped me with already, Oluo’s contributions and even Erwin helping with invites. Not to mention how every single fucking guest spent time preparing a dish on their own time and money just to bring it for us all to share. 

With the amount of guests we had, being close to about a hundred or so, there were way too many dishes for me to plausibly sample without making myself ill, so I made a mental note to get a takeaway for the flight. 

“Oh shit, Hange?” I asked. She looked up at me with a mouthful of what must have been a stuffed vine leaf at some stage in its life, now turning into mulch before my eyes. 

“Phw-at?” 

“Chew with your fucking mouth shut, fuck, Hange and don’t talk with your mouth full.” I scolded her. “Did you set up the music like I asked?” 

She grinned with her green bits stuck in her teeth and nodded. “Fear not, my short, less angry little friend. It has all been taken care of.” 

As we finish our meal, we have Sasha and Connie come over to wish us well, as well as Jean, Marco, Ymir and Krista. They’re all dressed to the nines and it’s really impressive. I can’t help but feel a pang of sadness as Petra’s mother approaches and with the tan dress she’s wearing I can’t help but recall the memory of meeting with Petra in this very ballroom, with her wearing a very similar twenties-esque dress. 

“Hi Levi, you look so happy. Petra would be so pleased for you” she starts.

“Thank you. I still miss her…” I say honestly, leaning forward in my seat. 

“Me too, but today’s not for that…” 

Our short conversation is interrupted as the end of the meal is announced from everyone chanting for us to cut the cake. Timing impeccable as always. I smile at Petra’s mother before I tug on Eren’s sleeve which fortunately hasn’t got any food on it yet and we get up, only increasing the cheers from all of the people around us. It’s a lot to take in and we didn’t have half this number at my wedding to Petra, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming. It feels appropriate, right. 

Mikasa is helping Oluo wheel out a three-tier cake covered with frosting shaped into edible mold samples, the base of the cake surrounded by twenty-five milliliter beakers full of different colored liquids. I turn over my shoulder to look at Hange and she’s giving me two thumbs up and a massive grin, stretching from ear to ear and disappearing beneath that messy mop of hair of hers. 

Eren hurries over to the small table it’s stood on and investigates every little detail like a small child investigates under rocks at the beach. He picks up the long knife and beckons me over. I cringe a little at having to do this cheesy as fuck joint cake cutting shit in front of everyone I work with, but as soon as Eren’s hand is around my waist and his other is holding mine after giving me the knife, I couldn’t care less. I’m not having any more fucking weddings after this so I’m going to enjoy this one and milk it for all it’s worth. 

We have a couple of photos taken whilst exchanging cake and I chuckle as I guide a slice of cake towards his waiting open gob, taking full advantage of the moment to literally stuff it into his mouth and all over his face, smearing it around as he makes futile attempts at doing the same to me. I turn my head and continue to smear cake all over his face and as he brings his slice up to my head, it collides with my left cheek and ear, coating my hair. 

Eren and I take a moment to enjoy what little cake made it to our mouths, scraping it off each other’s faces with fingers and licking it off. It’s quite sweet and I probably won’t be eating much of it, but it’s delicious. 

Everyone then files over to collect a piece of cake and once everyone has put themselves into a food induced coma, I vaguely hear a boisterous guffaw of laughter followed by Hange yelling over for us to do a speech. Others around her start to join in with their incessant chanting and eventually my nerves snap. 

“Speech, speech, spee-” 

“Fine, fine! We’re speeching!” I yell to them all to shut up and Eren simply chortles. I’ll never get tired of his laugh. I stand up to the microphone as the waiters busy themselves with clearing the food table behind me and the dance floor looks absolutely amazing. They have the huge magnolia tree dressed with tea lights, and there are lanterns strung across the entire ceiling. There is a jazz band set up as per the norm in this joint and they look ready to play. Good. 

I turn on my heels, positioning myself behind the mic perfectly, but the stand is too fucking tall so I pull the mic from it and hold it by hand.

“Right, you fucking shit stains-” I grinned. Eren pulled at the mic and forced it off me. I feigned a shocked expression, as if he’d just insulted me.

“Remember Levi, we’d planned for _me_ to do the talking? I don’t want our first fight to be how you insulted all of our guests before the night was even over!” 

I theatrically fold my arms and pout, rolling my eyes in an exaggerated manner. The crowd laughs and although I don’t let it show on my face, I’m finding it highly amusing too. Hange practically fucking _screams_ a laugh, much to Moblit’s eardrum-displeasure, as well as everyone else sat around her. 

“So I’m sure I can speak on Levi’s behalf, since we’re married now…” Eren fucking winks at me, the cheeky little shit. “…In saying that this has been absolutely mind blowing. Thank you all so much for all the effort everyone put in, you all look amazing and the food was to die for!” I gesture for Eren to give me the mic, he does. 

“Yeah, I couldn’t sample everything, so Hange, get the doggy bags. I’d hate to see it go to waste, so take it home and have it for lunch at work or whatever.” I give the mic back. Hange nods at me from her seat, now leaning up against Moblit who’s looking sheepish as always. 

“Well we’re not much for public speaking…” Eren starts, but Jean’s neighing voice carries over him from the tables. 

“Since when, Yeager?” he laughs loudly and Eren’s friends seem to get it, so join in with the amused grins. 

Eren hesitates for a moment before replying with his microphone. “Levi, did we order a horse drawn carriage?” to which his friends all giggle and snort at Jean, who frowns, looking slightly more pissed off. Eren simply blows him a little kiss and Jean seems to resign his retort for another time. 

“Okay, so I did actually prepare a little something for you all, with Levi’s help.” He shucks off his jacket, revealing his black tie against his white shirt and his black suspenders buttoned to his white pants. I do the same, only with opposite colours. I wait quietly behind him as I roll my sleeves up and ensure my shoelaces are tightly tied. 

“But first, our first dance!” 

Eren puts the mic back in the stand and holds his hand out and we take to the floor a little ways out. People have started to gather all around the edges of the dance floor, following us out to the center where we can position ourselves in the center, just below the band. The music begins to play and Eren holds his hand out for me, which I gladly take. 

Having taken dance classes, we didn’t really want to do the classic stand there and sway dance, so we opted for a slow dance with a little more footwork to a slightly quicker song. We eventually chose ‘ _Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You_ ’ for the first dance song, and I don’t regret it in the slightest now we’re stepping up opposite each other and taking our first dance steps as a married couple. 

Not including our little session of late-night tango in bed the other day. 

We smile sweetly at one another as we slowly move around to the first half of the song, quietly serenading each other. The lighting, the gentle music, the lyrics and the amazing company we have with us makes it feel so much more special than I’d ever dreamed of it being. Eren straightens his back and I do mine and we bust out into our most elegant foxtrot we’d been practicing for weeks. As soon as we pick up the pace with the song, the swarm of our friends and family are all cheering loudly and clapping excitedly as soon as we dive into a quickstep to accompany the faster beat of the second half of the song. 

Eren sings to me and I him, and we end up having an absolute hoot, swirling and kicking our feet around one another’s. By the end of the song we’re not entirely sure what we’re doing and we’re just enjoying ourselves, doing whatever the fuck we fancy. 

The song suddenly cuts out and Mikasa of all people storms across the dance floor with Armin closely on her heels trying to calm her down. She looks seriously pissed off. 

“Eren!” 

Eren looks surprised. The band decides to quietly and politely play Beethoven in the background whilst the yelling goes on. “What the fuck Mikasa?” 

“Eren I don’t know what to say. I didn’t think you swung this way!” 

“You’re saying this now of all times?!” He asks incredulously. I’ll hand it to him that boy’s acting is top notch if it involves him getting angry or at least pretending to be. He’d convince me if I didn’t know him so well. 

“Mikasa. I think you’ll find we _both_ swing that way,” I said loud enough for the crowd to hear. 

Just as soon as it seems Erwin and Mike are getting ready to intervene, Armin grabs Mikasa’s shoulders and takes her hands and I do the same with Eren. The music blares up into the beginning of a Beethoven song but quickly dissipates into a very recognizable intro riff to ‘ _Roll Over Beethoven’_. 

Eren and I had even taken Mikasa and Armin to our swing dance classes so we figured we’d surprise everyone with a little bit of ELO. This was the song we’d ironically both chosen, as our first dance song after the races, but it didn’t really matter either way. We just wanted an excuse to show everyone we knew how to jitterbug when most of them had no clue we even danced. 

The shocked looks on everyone’s faces when Eren started introducing lifts to our routine, and Mikasa started to throw Armin around over her shoulder and between her legs was hilarious. That girl had some serious upper body strength and Armin was a perfect partner for her to spin around her torso. I don’t know how Armin felt about being the girl, so to speak, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. 

Eren on the other hand was busy sliding me across the floor and even threw in a fucking backflip out of nowhere. I knew he had been working out for this, but even I was impressed as I ran back over to him and back into the dance moves. Upon our next parting Eren and I left Armin and Mikasa to their thing and jogged around them in large circles with our contrasting suits, waving our arms for the crowd to join us to ‘reel and rock it’ with us. 

Everyone sprung from their seats and hurried to the dance floor with partners in hand. It reminded me a lot of our first night here, where there had been dance partners of all calibers. Mothers with daughters, married partners, friends and Jean even took a spin with Eren at some stage. 

As the night carried on, we retreated to our seats for a few more drinks once we’d grown too tired to dance and we went back up as often as we could to continue working up our sweats. We danced with strangers; we danced with close friends, ex lovers and newly formed in-laws. We enjoyed the company of the people we’d probably never all see again together like this. 

We danced until our feet hurt and our bodies ached for a long ass flight to Turkey, and we danced until we could do nothing but that slow, ambling shuffle we didn’t want to start the night with. 

Eren was resting his head against my shoulder and my head was turned against his chest, breathing heavily in each other’s arms, completely out of breath aside from what little energy we had left to stand. 

“I love you Levi,” he mumbles into my neck, giving it a lazy nuzzle. 

“Tell me something I don’t know, brat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's the end of my excuse to drabble some Ereri fluff. 
> 
> I have a second Ereri fic which I'm drafting currently, it's a lot darker, more angst and is set in a tropical rainforest! 
> 
> It will also contain the elusive Grisha/Hange ship. (I know, right. Trust me, in the story's context it works, I promise!)
> 
> Like Methylene Blue, I'll begin posting when I've got the plot line organised. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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